ENGLISH PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY
ENGLISH PHONEMES
Over-view: The Object of Phonetics and Phonology
Phonetics and phonology are essential branches of linguistics that focus on the study of sounds While the English alphabet consists of 26 letters, the English sound system includes 44 distinct phonemes These two fields examine sounds from varying perspectives, highlighting the complexity of spoken language.
■ Phonetics is concerned with the physical manifestation of language in sound waves and how they are produced, transmitted, and perceived, and also
―provides methods for their description, classification, and transcription‖ (Crystal 2008: 363)
■ Phonology ―studies the sound systems of languages‖ and how sounds function in relation to each other in a language
In phonetics and phonology, the term "sound" is often considered vague and is typically replaced by "phone," which specifically refers to the human voice The word "phone" originates from the Greek term for "voice" and denotes a speech sound that can be isolated from continuous speech According to Crystal (2008), a phone is defined as "the smallest perceptible discrete segment of sound in a stream of speech" (p 361).
A phoneme is the smallest independent unit of sound that can alter meaning, encompassing all phonetic specifications of phones According to Roach (2009), phonemes are referred to as "abstract sounds" due to the slight variations in their realizations For instance, the sound /t/ in "team" is aspirated [t h ], while in "steam," it is not [t] Variants of the same phoneme, like [t] and [t h ], are known as allophones, which do not change the semantic meaning of a word For example, the word "team" retains its meaning regardless of which allophone of /t/ is used; however, substituting /t/ with the phoneme /b/ would result in a change of meaning.
The objective of the lecture is to help the learners review some basic concepts of phonetics and phonology as well as English phonemes: vowels and consonants
A minimal pair consists of two words that highlight the existence of distinct phonemes, differing by only one phoneme While phonemes themselves cannot be pronounced, they are represented in speech through their allophones.
Speech sounds are categorized into two main types: vowels and consonants Vowels are created with an open vocal tract, allowing airflow to move freely, making them open sounds In contrast, consonants involve some constriction in the vocal tract during their production According to Roach (2009), this distinction highlights the fundamental differences between these two classes of sounds.
■ Vowels are the class of sounds that are associated with the least obstruction to the flow of air during their production
■ Consonants are the class of sounds that are associated with obstructed airflow through the vocal tract during their production
Vowels are distinct from consonants due to their higher acoustic energy, exhibiting greater resonance and intensity, which results in increased sonority They serve a crucial role in syllable formation, as every syllable must contain at least one vowel, whereas consonants function at the edges of syllables and can appear alone or in clusters Additionally, vowels are generally voiced, involving the vibration of the vocal folds, while consonants can be categorized as either voiced or voiceless.
Characterizing and classifying vowels presents significant challenges, as highlighted by Clark and Yallop (1992), who emphasize that vowel quality is influenced by the size and shape of the vocal tract, which can be altered by the tongue and lips A key difficulty lies in defining the tongue's position during movement, as it does not create any notable obstruction in the oral cavity Consequently, vowels are articulated without a distinct point of blockage Additionally, the shape and degree of lip protrusion serve as fundamental articulatory features that further define vowel production.
The Height of the Tongue
■ high or close vowels articulated with the tongue located as high as possible in the oral cavity, thus narrowing the passage for the airflow: / ɪ /, / i:/, /u/, /u:/;
■ mid or mid-open vowels with the tongue lowered to the mid position in the oral cavity: /ɒ/,/ ʌ/, / ə:/ / ɜ:/
■ low or open vowels produced with the tongue positioned as low as possible in order to leave a lot of space for the airflow: /e/, / ɔ:/, /ổ/, / ɑ:/
The Advancement of the Tongue
■ front vowels articulated with the tongue far forward in the oral cavity toward the hard palate: / i:/, / i/, /e/, /ổ/;
■ central or mixed vowels produced with the tongue retracted to the middle position in the oral cavity: / ʌ/, / ɜ:/, /ə/;
■ back vowels produced with the tongue retracted as far as possible to shape the space in the front part of the oral cavity: /ɒ/,/ɔ:/,/ʊ/, /u:/,/ ɑ:/
The Shape of the Lips
Vowels vary in their characteristics, particularly in how the lips are rounded and shaped, which affects the size of the oral cavity The following sets of vowels can be identified based on these distinctions.
■ rounded vowels, as the lips shape into a circle or a tube: /ɒ/,/ɔ:/,/ʊ/, /u:/;
■ spread vowels, as the corners of the lips are moved away from each other: /ɜ:/,/e/, /i:/, /I/,/ổ/
■ neutral vowels, as the position of the lips is not noticeably rounded or spread: /ʌ/, /ə/, / ɑ:/
Vowels in English are categorized into tense and lax based on the tenseness of the speech organs Tense vowels are characterized by being higher and more marginal, while lax vowels are shorter, lower, and slightly more centralized Among the 12 pure vowels in English, five are classified as long in duration, indicated by a length mark of two vertical dots, while the remaining seven are considered short vowels.
Monophthongs are pure vowels characterized by a single auditory quality, remaining constant in their articulation without gliding In English, there are 12 monophthongs: /eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ, əʊ, aʊ, ɪə, eə, ʊə/ In contrast, diphthongs consist of two vowel qualities, where the articulators transition from one vowel sound to another The first part, known as the nucleus, is longer and stronger, while the second part acts as a glide, often not fully articulated, resulting in a shorter and quieter phoneme.
Trip-thongs represent the most intricate vowel sounds, characterized by a smooth transition between three distinct vowel qualities According to Roach (2009), these sounds are formed by combining five closing diphthongs with an added schwa at the end.
Received Pronunciation (RP) is a form of pronunciation of the English language
English, often referred to as "English English," denotes the variety of the English language spoken in England, particularly the educated spoken form from southeastern England This variant serves as a standard for teaching non-native speakers and is commonly used in phonology and phonetics literature, as well as in the pronunciation guides of most British dictionaries.
Full vowels are those that appear in stressed syllables
Short Long front back front central back
Diphthongs Closing Centring to /i/ to /u/
/ /: boor (falling out of use in British English; often replaced by /ɔː/)
Reduced vowels occur in unstressed syllables
Consonants in English, totaling 24, share distinct properties that differentiate them from vowels They can be classified based on three key characteristics: the location of constriction, the manner of constriction, and the type of phonation This classification system encompasses the place, manner, and voicing of consonants, providing a comprehensive understanding of their unique attributes.
In the consonant classification system, "place" refers to the site of obstruction and the articulatory organs engaged during consonant production According to Clark and Yallop (1992: 79), consonants are categorized based on different tongue positions and their corresponding locations of articulation.
■ bilabial sounds are produced with the upper and lower lips pushed together: /p/,
■ labio-dental sounds are articulated with contact between the lower lip and the upper teeth: /f/, /v/;
■ dental sounds are generated with the tip of the tongue protruded between the lower and the upper teeth: /θ/, /ð/
■ alveolar sounds are made by advancing the tip of the tongue toward the alveolar ridge: /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, /s/, /z/;
■ post-alveolar sounds are produced by raising the blade of the tongue toward the alveolar region: /tʃ/, /dʒ/ /ʃ/, /ʒ /, /r/;
■ palatal sounds are pronounced by advancing the blade of the tongue toward the highest part of the hard palate: /j/;
■ velar sounds are made as the tongue body makes contact with the soft palate:
■ glottal sound is produced by the narrowing of the glottis as the wall of the pharynx makes contact with the root of the tongue: /h/
The manner of obstruction in the vocal tract refers to the extent and formation of airflow blockage, varying from complete closure to near openness A total blockage of airflow is termed a complete obstruction.
ENGLISH SYLLABLE AND STRESS
Syllables are fundamental units of language that many people can intuitively count, even if they struggle to define them Phonetically, a syllable consists of a central part that allows for unobstructed airflow and produces a louder sound, flanked by areas of greater obstruction and softer sounds at the beginning and end Understanding syllables is essential for grasping the nuances of speech and language.
1 The nature of syllable a What we will call a minimum syllable is a single vowel in isolation (e.g the words ‗are‘
Syllables can consist of isolated sounds, such as /m/ for agreement or /ʃ/ for silence, which should be recognized as syllables themselves Additionally, some syllables feature an onset, meaning they begin with one or more consonants before the vowel sound at the center.
- ‗bar‘ /bɑ:/ ‗key‘ /ki:/ ‗more‘ /m ɔ:/ c Syllables may have no onset but have a coda - that is, they end with one or more consonants:
- ‗am‘ /ổm/ ‗ought‘ / ɔ:t/ ‗ease‘ /i:z/ iv) Some syllables have both onset and coda:
‗ran‘ /rổn/ ‗sat‘ /sổt/ ‗fill‘ /fil/
2 The structure of the English syllable
Onset can be realized by:
+ Zero (no onset): eight, aim
Coda (termination) can be realized by:
The objective of the lecture is to help the learners with English syllable and different patterns of English stress
3 Strong and weak syllables a, the vowel / ə/ (―schwa‖);
The most common vowel in English is /ə/, typically found in weak syllables This mid-central vowel is characterized as lax, meaning it is produced with minimal effort While its quality can vary, such variations are generally not significant Additionally, /i:/ represents a close front unrounded vowel in the vicinity of /i:/.
In words that end with the letters 'y' or 'ey' following one or more consonants, such as 'happy' and 'valley', the final 'y' is pronounced as a vowel sound This pronunciation rule also applies in morpheme-final positions when these words take on suffixes that begin with vowels, as seen in examples like 'happier', 'easiest', and 'hurrying'.
In English phonetics, certain prefixes like "re," "pre," and "de" are pronounced with an unstressed vowel when they precede a vowel, as seen in words like "react," "create," and "deodorant." Additionally, suffixes such as "ate" and "ous" are also unstressed in two-syllable words, exemplified by "appreciate" and "hilarious." Unstressed pronouns like "he," "she," "we," "me," "be," and the article "the" before a vowel further illustrate this pattern In most other instances involving short close front unrounded vowels, the vowel can be associated with the "i" phoneme, evident in the first syllable of words like "resist" and "inane," as well as the middle syllable of "incident" and "orchestra."
The vowel sound found in words like "artichoke" and "swimming" is predominantly represented by the letters 'i' and 'e' in spelling Additionally, there is a close back rounded vowel, similar to /u:/, which is symbolized as /u/.
Weak syllables with close back rounded vowels are not so commonly found
The vowel sound /u/ commonly appears in unstressed positions within words such as "you," "to," "into," and "do," particularly when they do not precede a consonant Additionally, it is present in the words "through" and "who" regardless of their position in the sentence when unstressed This vowel sound can also be found before another vowel in words like "evacuation" and "influenza," as well as in syllabic consonants.
A syllabic consonant stands as the peak of the syllable instead of a vowel Phonetic symbols: /n/, /l/, /m/, /g/, /ŋ/
Stress in spoken language refers to the emphasis placed on specific syllables or words, which are articulated with greater energy to stand out in a sentence For example, in the words "father" /'fa: ðə/ and "information" /|infə'meiʃn/, the stressed syllables are pronounced more forcefully Word stress is typically a fixed feature within a word, highlighting the importance of certain syllables in communication.
For example: in'vite enter'tain
Sentence stress refers to the emphasis placed on specific words within a sentence, varying based on the speaker's emotions and the intended message This dynamic aspect of speech highlights the importance of certain words, which can change depending on context and the speaker's intent.
John bought a new car yesterday
We can study stress from the point of view of production and perception
From the production point of view, the production of stress is generally believed to depend on the speaker‘s using more muscular energy than for unstressed syllables
Stressed syllables share a common characteristic of prominence, influenced by four key factors: loudness, length, pitch, and vowel quality While these factors typically work in combination to create prominence, a syllable can also be emphasized by just one or two of them.
Primary stress (tonic/nuclear): is the strongest type of stress It is marked by a small vertical line high up just before the syllable it relates to
Secondary stress, also known as non-tonic stress, is characterized by being less intense than primary stress yet more pronounced than unstressed syllables Typically occurring in four or five-syllable words, it is indicated in transcription with a low mark.
Unstressed: can be regarded as being the absence of any recognizable amount of prominence
4.4 Placement of stress within words
To determine stress placement in words, it is essential to consider several key factors First, analyze whether the word is morphologically simple, derived, or compound Next, identify the grammatical category of the word, as this influences stress patterns Additionally, the number of syllables in the word plays a crucial role in stress assignment Finally, examine the phonological structure of the word to ensure accurate stress placement.
1 The main stress of a word may occur on any syllable in English
Eg: table /'teibl/ tomato /tə'meitəu / understand /‚⋀ndə'stổnd / organisation /‚Ɔ:gənai'zeiʃn/ identification /ai‚dentifi'keiʃn/
Tonic: the syllable marked with the main stress (the stressed syllable with the greatest pitch prominence) is the tonic syllable
Secondary stress (‚) – the stressed syllable which will never have the major pitch prominence
A great variety of stress patterns may occur in polysyllabic words
4.7 Weak and strong forms of grammatical words
In everyday English conversations, grammatical or functional words frequently adopt a weak form However, they may shift to a strong form in specific situations, such as when they appear at the end of utterances, when they are quoted or cited, when they are contrasted, or when they are stressed for emphasis.
Words Weak forms Strong forms
An / ən / before V / ổn / before V
That / ðət / relative pronoun / ðổt / demonstrative adj & pronoun
/ fƆ: / > C / fƆ:r / > V From /frəm/ unstressed / frƆm / final/stressed
Does / dəz / / d⋀z / have / həv / initial unstressed
/ həd / initial unstressed / əd / medial
Weren’t/ wə:nt / don’t / dəunt /
Shan’t / ʃa:nt / didn’t / didnt /
Can’t / ka:nt / mustn’t/ m⋀snt/
ASPECTS OF CONNECTED SPEECH
The objective of the lecture is to help the learners with aspects of connected speech: rhythm, assimilation, elision and linking
Rhythm in English speech is characterized by the consistent beat created by stressed syllables It is widely believed that English exhibits a rhythmical quality, evident in the regular pattern of stressed syllables The concept of stress-timed rhythm suggests that stressed syllables appear at relatively uniform intervals, regardless of the presence of unstressed syllables between them.
Walk /down/ the path/ to the end /of the canal
The stress-timed rhythm theory posits that the duration between stressed syllables remains consistent, regardless of the number of unstressed syllables that occur in between.
How did you manage to be there in time?
In syllable-timed languages, all syllables, regardless of stress, appear at consistent time intervals, with the duration between stressed syllables varying based on the number of preceding unstressed syllables A stressed syllable, along with any subsequent unstressed syllables, creates a stress group In English rhythm, the key principle is that each stress group within a word group receives equal timing.
My teacher‘s in London this Friday for a conference in Phonetics
When did you hear the story about John and the girl upstairs?
A rhythm unit consists of a stressed syllable at its center, accompanied by any preceding or following unstressed syllables Unstressed syllables at the beginning of a word group should be grouped with the subsequent stress group If an unstressed syllable is part of the same word as the stressed syllable, they form a single foot Additionally, unstressed syllables that are grammatically linked to other stressed words, even if not part of those words, belong to the same rhythm unit When uncertain about the placement of unstressed syllables, it is advisable to position them after a stressed syllable rather than before it.
Assimilation is the linguistic process where one sound changes to resemble a neighboring sound in various ways, often occurring at the boundaries of morphemes or words For example, phonemes can influence each other, leading to increased similarity between them This phenomenon can happen both within a single word and across word boundaries, as seen in phrases like "light blue" or "good girl."
1 Kinds of assimilation across word boundaries a In terms of the direction of change
Progressive assimilation: Ci- Cf b In terms of the way in which phonemes change
Assimilation of place of articulation
2.1 Alveolar + bilabial→ bilabial a /t / becomes /p/ before bilabials right place might put b /d/ becomes /b/ before bilabials hard path should put c /n/ becomes [m] before bilabials gone past seen Peter
2.2 Alveolar + velar → velar a /t/ becomes [ k] before / k / and / g / white coat might come b /d/ becomes [ g] before / k / and / g / bad cold should come c /n/ becomes [ŋ] before / k / and / g / one cup seen Karen
2.3 Alveolar + dental →dentalized get there tenth bad thing
2.4 Alveolar + palato-alveolar or palatal → palato- alveolar a /s / becomes [ʃ] before / ʃ / or / j / nice shoes this shop this year b /z/ becomes [ʒ] before / / ʃ / or / j / those shops these sheep where‘s yours? c Alveolar stops and a following / j / may merge to form an affricate want you individual did you? education
3 Assimilation of manner of articulation
Cf (Lenis) + Ci (Fortis) → Cf becomes devoiced have to bad tongue big car
Elision is the disappearance of sounds in speech Under certain circumstances, sounds disappear A phoneme may be realized as zero or have zero realization
Elision rules dictate that aspirated stops followed by a weak vowel /ə/ transform into aspirated stops, as seen in "today" [t h dei] and "potatoes" [p h teitau] Additionally, the weak vowel /ə/ vanishes before syllabic consonants such as /n/, /l/, and /r/, exemplified by "canal" [knổl], "correct" [krekt], and "connect" [knekt] When a stop is followed by another stop, as in "looked back" [lukt bổk] and "stopped killing" [stopt° kiliŋ], elision occurs The same applies when a stop precedes a fricative, evident in "acts" [ổkts] and "scripts" [skript°s] Lastly, elision can also occur in sequences involving fricatives surrounding stops.
In phonetics, certain patterns emerge in the pronunciation of specific words For instance, the plural "desks" and the word "guests" exhibit a transformation where the final sound changes based on surrounding phonetic elements, resulting in the pronunciation of "last time" and "last man." Similarly, words ending in "-ft," such as "left door" and "left knee," demonstrate a shift to the sound "-f." Additionally, the combination "-md" leads to a lenis stop, as seen in "skimmed milk" and "seemed good," where the final sound is softened Furthermore, there is a notable loss of the final /v/ sound in phrases like "lots of them" and "waste of money," illustrating how consonants influence pronunciation in everyday language.
1 Linking final consonant to initial vowel drink a cup of tea put it on
2 Liking identical consonants bad dog stop pushing big girl
Four eggs your eys for ever
Media events [mi:diarivents] Australia and Africa
4 Intrusive /j/: when a word ending in /i i: eɪ aɪ ɔɪ / is followed by a word beginning with a vowel the other my aunt [mai j a:nt] see us
5 Intrusive / w /: when a word ending in /u:, u, əʊ, aʊ / is followed by a word beginning with a vowel go in [gau w in] two others
The objective of the chapter is to help the learners with English intonation, its functions and different patterns of English intonation
Intonation is the pattern of pitch changes that occurs over a phrase which may be a complete sentence
When he came, I greeted him
I bought some bananas, oranges, apples and grapes
A tone group refers to the segment of a sentence that a specific pattern influences Typically, a brief sentence constitutes a single tone group, whereas longer sentences may consist of multiple tone groups.
In a tone group, one syllable typically stands out due to a significant pitch change, known as the tonic syllable Predicting which syllable will be tonic is often challenging, as it is determined by the speaker's perception of importance Generally, new information is more likely to receive tonic stress compared to previously mentioned material.
Water is a liquid Water is a liquid
How was he? He was very boring
Was he boring? He was very boring
The structure of a melody is influenced by the number of significant words within a phrase and the specific emotion you intend to convey Significant words are those that hold the most meaning in a phrase and should be emphasized; however, not every emphasized word is necessarily significant.
John was in an appallingly bad temper, indicating that he was not in a good mood at all His demeanor reflected a significant level of frustration, confirming that he was indeed in a very bad temper.
Intonation enables us to express emotions and attitudes as we speak, and this adds a special kind of meaning to spoken language This is called the attitudinal
Starts high and ends low shows real gratitude
Starts low and ends high casual acknowledgement of something not very important
Sounds more business-like or interested in the subject or interested in both the subject of the conversation and the other speaker
Intonation plays a crucial role in highlighting the prominence of specific syllables, particularly by placing tonic stress on certain syllables to indicate the most important word within a tone unit This aspect of intonation is known as its accentual function.
I want to know where he‘s travelling to
Intonation plays a crucial role in helping listeners identify grammatical structures and syntactic boundaries in spoken language It aids in distinguishing between phrases, clauses, and sentences, as well as differentiating questions from statements Additionally, intonation can signal the use of grammatical subordination, highlighting its grammatical function in effective communication.
Those who sold quickly made a profit
My son John and my daughter
Intonation plays a crucial role in communication by indicating to listeners what information is new versus what is already known It helps signal contrasts or connections with previous statements and guides the expected responses in conversations.
You love her, don‘t you?
Since the last time we met when we had that huge dinner, I‘ve been on a diet
III The basic English tunes
1 The falling tune - The glide down
The falling tune is the intonation pattern consisting of a fall in the voice from a fairly high pitch to a very low one a If there is one important word
• On a single syllable, the voice falls within the syllable
LEXICOLOGY-SEMANTICS
Lexicology, a key branch of linguistics, focuses on various lexical units such as morphemes, words, variable word-groups, and phraseological units In contrast, semasiology examines the meaning of words and their equivalents, exploring aspects like types of lexical meaning, polysemy, and the semantic structure of words It also investigates the semantic development of words, trends in changes of word meanings, and the organization of vocabulary into semantic groupings, including synonyms, antonyms, and thematic fields A referential approach to meaning highlights the connection between words and their referents, establishing the relationship between language and the objects of reality they denote.
Meaning is often perceived as a reference to an object or phenomenon in the external world, defined through its functional use in context Contemporary lexicological methods analyze words within phrases or sentences, emphasizing that a word's meaning is derived from its relationships with other linguistic units While meaning is closely linked to underlying concepts—categories of human cognition that highlight essential features—meanings can vary across languages, even for identical concepts This distinction is evident when comparing synonyms, which may express the same concept but carry different emotional weights For instance, while "big" and "tremendous" denote size, "tremendous" conveys a stronger emotional charge Additionally, grammatical meaning, which reflects relationships between words, is more abstract than lexical meaning, which embodies concepts or emotions within a specific language system Ultimately, lexical meaning represents the realization of concepts through language, highlighting the complex interplay between meaning, concept, and emotional nuance.
1)The component of meaning proper to the word as a linguistic unit, i.e recurrent in all the forms of this word and in all possible distributions of these forms
2)The semantic invariant of the grammatical variation of a word
The material meaning of a word refers to its primary substance, capturing the core concept it represents along with the essential characteristics of the object, phenomenon, quality, or state that the word denotes.
Denotation refers to the explicit conceptual meaning of a word, serving as a linguistic expression for a concept or a name for a specific object This denotative meaning is essential for effective communication, as it provides clarity and understanding in conveying ideas.
Connotation refers to the pragmatic communicative value of a word, influenced by factors such as context, time, speaker, and purpose There are four primary types of connotations: stylistic, emotional, evaluative, and expressive or intensifying Stylistic connotations reflect the speaker's attitude towards social circumstances and functional style, as seen in the difference between "slay" and "kill." Evaluative connotations indicate approval or disapproval, illustrated by "clique" versus "group." Emotional connotations express the speaker's feelings, such as "mummy" compared to "mother," while expressive connotations convey intensity, as in "adore" versus "love." The relationship between connotations and denotative meaning varies across these types.
WORD STRUCTURE AND FORMATION
A morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of language, exemplified by the word "teacher," which combines the root "teach" with the affix "-er." In contrast, the phonetic components of "teach," such as /t/, /i:/, and /ts/, do not carry meaning on their own Morphemes are categorized into two types: root morphemes, which convey the core meaning, and affixal morphemes, which modify or enhance that meaning.
1 The root morpheme (the lexical morpheme / the root / the stem): is the primary element of the word and conveys its essential lexical meaning The root remains after removing all the other elements and cannot be analyzed any further e.g bookish helpful un kind
The root is classified into:
Free morphemes: function independently e.g heart/y, read/able (heart, read: free roots)
Bound morphemes: cannot function independently They are especially characteristic of loan words e.g bound root:
-clude in include, conclude, exclude French: arrog- in arrogance char- in charity cour-in courage cow- in coward
2 Affixational morphemes are further divided into grammatical morphemes (also inflection / ending) and derivational morpheme
Grammatical morphemes, also known as inflections or endings, are essential for forming different variations of a word These morphemes convey specific grammatical meanings and are primarily analyzed within the field of grammar For example, the addition of -s in the word "teacher" creates the plural form "teachers."
The objective of the chapter is to help the learners revise all aspects of word structure and the main ways of word formation
The derivational morpheme carries both lexical and grammatical meaning (also called lexico-grammatical morpheme)
The derivational morpheme is further subdivided, according to their position, into prefixes, suffixes, and infixes:
Suffixes: -ness, -ful, -less, -ize
Infix: -n- (in stand), spokesman, statesman, sportsman, fisherman, washerman, doomsday
Based on word structure, words are divided into three types: simple words, derived words and compound words
- A simple word is one that only consists of a root morpheme (no derivational morpheme), e.g girl, teach, work, white
- A derived word is one that consists of a root and one or more derivational morphemes: teacher, worker, impression, modernization
A compound word consists of at least two roots, which may include derivational morphemes Examples of compound words include terms like "blackboard," "classroom," and "happy-go-lucky." Other instances are "lady-killer," "dining-room," "bluebell," "mother-in-law," and "good-for-nothing."
Word formation is the process of creating new words using existing linguistic elements, following specific structural and semantic patterns This article explores the various common methods of word formation in the English language.
1 Affixation: the formation of new words with the help of affixes As affixes consist of prefixes and suffixes, affixation is further divided into pre-fixation and suffixation
Pre-fixation is the process of creating words through the addition of prefixes, which primarily alters the lexical meaning of the root word While this method typically maintains the original part of speech, it can occasionally lead to the formation of new ones For example, the adjective "happy" becomes "unhappy" and the verb "do" transforms into "redo."
Suffixation is the formation of words by means of suffixes The process changes the meaning of the root, both lexically and grammatically
Suffixation transfers words to different parts of speech: beautiful (adj) beautifully (adv) modern (adj) modernize (v)
Compounding, or word-composition, involves creating a new word by combining two or more existing words A compound word consists of at least two stems or roots that are recognized as free forms in the language Examples of compound words include classroom, timetable, bedroom, schoolgirl, passerby, aircraft carrier, kind-hearted, handwash, and sunbeam.
-The components of a compound may be either simple or derived words or even other compound words
A compound word may differ from a free word group phonologically, structurally, semantically or graphically a Phonological criterion:
-There is a marked tendency in English to give compounds a heavy stress on the first element (determinant)
‗blackboard # ‗black ‘board ‗blackbird # ‗black ‗bird
‗bluebottle # ‗blue ‗bottle ‗dancing girl # ‗dancing ‗girl b Inseparability criteria (criterion of structural integrity)
Compounds are indivisible Between the elements of a compound word it is impossible to insert any other words
Raincoat, notice-board, identity-card, text-book, tallboy c Semantic criterion:
A compound word conveys a singular concept, even though it is formed from two or more individual words Examples include "dirty work," which refers to dishonorable activities, as opposed to phrases like "clean work" or "dry work." Other instances of compound words are "black-market," "red-tape," "greenhouse," "bluebottle," "lip-service," "chatterbox," and "blackboard." Additionally, the term "graphic criterion" relates to spelling standards.
A compound is often spelt with a hyphen or with no separation at all: headmaster, loudspeaker or head-master, loud-speaker, night-club
Shortening is a productive way of building words in English, especially in colloquial speech and advertisement e.g ad (advertisement), TV, I.O.U
Shortening includes abbreviation and blending a Abbreviation includes acronyms and clipping
Acronyms are words built from the initials of several words the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
Clipping is further classified into Initial, Final, Initio-final, Medial, Elliptico- conversional clipping
+ Initial clipping: the first part of the word is clipped
Phone (telephone), cute (acute), fend (defend)
+ Final clipping: the last part of a word is clipped doc (doctor), prof (professor), uni (university)
+ Initio-final clipping: both the first and the last parts are clipped: frig/fridge (refrigerator), flu (influenza), tec (detective)
+ Medial clipping: the medial part is clipped maths (mathematics), specs (spectacles)
Elliptico-conversional refers to a linguistic phenomenon that combines ellipsis, conversion, and clipping, exemplified by phrases like "open on," which stands for "open fire on," and abbreviations such as "finals" for "final examinations" and "prelims" for "preliminary examinations." Additionally, blending is a unique form of word shortening where segments of different words merge to create a new term.
Conversion is the formation of a new word in a different part of speech without adding any element e.g chair (n) to chair finger (n) to finger milk (n) to milk water (n) to water
Partial conversion: the building of some nouns from verbs:
Have a look / talk / smoke / dance / wash / a chat / a swim
Give a ring / kick / blow Give a jerk / a jump / a start
Take a ride / a walk / the lead Make a move / a dive
Substantivation: the formation of nouns from adjectives or the transition into nouns: private (adj) a private captive (adj) a captive conservative a conservative criminal a criminal female a female
+ partial substantivation: the old, the young, the dead, the dying, the living, the unemployed, the wounded, the lower-paid
Sound imitation is the way of forming words by imitating sounds produced by actions, things etc
-Words showing animals: crow, cuckoo, humming bird, cricket
-Words showing sounds made by animals: howl, quack, croak, mew, moo
Words showing movement of water: flush, splash, babble
-Words showing actions made by man: giggle, chatter, grumble, murmur,
Back derivation is the process of creating new words by removing a real or imagined affix from existing terms This linguistic technique can be seen in examples such as transforming "beggar" into "beg," "burglar" into "burgle," "cobbler" into "cobble," "baby-sitter" into "baby-sit," and "forced-landing" into "force-land."
7 Sound and stress interchange a Sound interchange: New words are built by changing the root vowel or consonant of the old words
E.g .food (n) feed (v) (root vowel) speak (v) speech (n) (root consonant) life (n) live (v) (both) b Stress interchange: The new word is built by changing the place of the stress on the old one, eg
‗export (n) to ex‘port (v) ‗conduct (n) to con‘duct (v)
‗contrast (n) to con‘trast ‗convict (n) to con‘vict
‗digest (n) to di‘gest ‗essay (n) to a‘ssay
8 Word from names (metaphor and metonymy based words)
Jumbo: a huge elephant brought to the US jumbo jet plane, jumbo cassette-recorder
Names of authors: Have you read Shakespeares?
LEXICAL MEANING
Two kinds of meanings: Lexical meaning and grammatical meaning
Lexical meaning is the realization of concept of emotion
Grammatical meaning is what unites words with different lexical meanings
It divides words into groups with their own grammatical features, for example: table, chair, bed, book … singular nouns, common case walk, go, run, eat,… verbs
There are two components of lexical meaning: Denotational meaning (denotation) and con-notational meaning (connotation)
The denotative component expresses the conceptual (notional) content of a word It includes or points out things, concepts
The connotative component shows us how things, concepts etc are indicated
The term "denotation" refers to the literal meaning of words, which conveys the speaker's attitude and emotions For instance, while "father," "dad," and "daddy" share the same denotational meaning, they carry distinct connotations that can be stylistic, emotional, evaluative, or expressive Additionally, lexical meaning can be categorized into direct and indirect meanings, highlighting the complexity of language.
Direct meaning is the meaning that directly denotes something without comparing it or associating with other things i.e we do not need a context Direct meaning is also called literal meaning
Indirect meaning refers to a significance that is implied rather than explicitly stated To grasp this concept, one must draw comparisons or make associations with other elements, highlighting the importance of context This type of meaning is often described as figurative or transferred, enriching communication by conveying deeper insights.
E.g.: head: part of the body (direct meaning), leader (indirect meaning)
II The motivation of English words
1 Motivation means the relationship between structure and meaning and between direct and indirect meaning There are 3 types of motivation: morphologic, phonetic and semantic
This chapter aims to enhance learners' understanding of key aspects of lexical meanings It explores morphologic motivation, which refers to the direct connection between a word's morphological structure and its meaning, illustrated by examples such as "employer" (a person who employs others) and "employee" (a person who works for someone) Additionally, the chapter discusses phonetic motivation, highlighting the relationship between a word's phonetic structure and its meaning, where the sound of the word resembles the sound produced by the object it represents.
E.g quack, moo, mew, giggle, bang, ping-pong, tick-tack c Semantic motivation: is the relationship between direct and indirect meaning
There is co-existence of literal and figurative meanings based on metaphor, for example:
The foot of the mountain
1 Homonyms (Gr homes (similar) + onoma (name)): words identical in pronunciation and/or spelling, but different in meaning They are not connected semantically (They have no semantic relation) They are quite different words According to form, homonymy is classified into full/perfect homonyms and partial homonyms
Full/perfect homonyms: words identical both in pronunciation and spelling Theyare of the same part of speech
E.g seal: a sea animal seal: a design printed on paper by means of a stamp
Partial homonyms are words that share identical pronunciation and/or spelling but are homonymous only in certain forms of their paradigms These words can occur within the same part of speech or across different parts of speech, highlighting the complexity of language.
E.g to found, founded, founded – to find, found, found pail (n) - pale (adj) lie, lied, lied lie, lay, lain lay, laid, laid
According to meaning, there are lexical homonyms and grammatical homonyms
Lexical homonyms are words that belong to the same part of speech but possess different meanings with no semantic relation For example, the word "match" can refer to a game or a stick used to light a fire, while "board" can mean a flat piece of wood, a ship's deck, or a committee Understanding lexical homonyms is essential for effective communication and language comprehension.
Grammatical homonyms: words of different parts of speech eg work (n) - work (v) asked (simple past) - asked (PII)
Homonyms are also classified into homophones and homographs:
Homophones: words identical in pronunciation, but different or coincidental in spelling eg son - sun air - heir night - knight
Homographs: words of the same spelling, but of different pronunciation eg tear/ti∂/ - tear /te∂/ bow /b∂u/ - bow / bau/
2 Polysemy refers to the case in which a word has more than one meaning Most
English words are poly-semantic, just few words are mono-semantic (mainly scientific terms)
The first meaning of a word is called ―the direct or primary‖ meaning and the other meanings are called ―secondary or derived‖
All the meanings of a word form its semantic structure and the more common the word is, the more meanings it has
Polysemy can be categorized into two primary patterns: radial polysemy and chain polysemy Radial polysemy occurs when multiple meanings derive from a single, direct meaning In contrast, chain polysemy develops meanings sequentially, where each subsequent meaning is based on the preceding one.
Polysemy and homonymy are distinguished based on a number of criteria, namely semantic criterion, derivational criterion, criterion of synonyms and criterion of combination
Synonyms are words that belong to the same part of speech and share similar denotational meanings, yet differ in their phonetic and graphic representations, connotational meanings, and combinability They can be categorized into several types, including absolute synonyms, semantic synonyms, stylistic synonyms, euphemisms, semantic-stylistic synonyms, and phraseological synonyms.
+ Absolute synonyms: words having the same denotational and connotational meanings
This is a result of borrowing and territorial synonyms eg Br E - team (in a football match) Am E - squad luggage baggage
+ Semantic synonyms: words differing in shades of meaning eg beautiful, pretty, good-looking, nice, lovely, fair
+ Stylistic synonyms: words belonging to different stylistic layers, differing in emotive value, expressiveness eg to begin - to commence (lit., official)
Euphemisms are expressions that substitute unpleasant terms with more agreeable ones to avoid hurting feelings For instance, instead of referring to a "corpse," one might say "remains," while "poor" can be softened to "underprivileged." Similarly, terms like "crisis" may be replaced with "recession," "slow-down," or "depression," and "drunk" can be expressed as "merry" or "intoxicated." These substitutions reflect a desire to communicate sensitive topics in a more palatable manner.
Semantic-stylistic synonyms are words that vary in both meaning and stylistic connotation For instance, "house" can refer to a "shack," "slum," or "pad" (slang), while terms like "to dismiss," "to sack," "to fire," "to expel," "to lay off," and "to kick out" (slang) illustrate the same concept in the context of employment termination Understanding these nuances enhances language richness and precision.
+ Phraseological synonyms: words differing in their combinability eg do exercises make money
Lexical variants exemplify free variation in language, as they are not influenced by contextual factors but are instead chosen by individual speakers Examples include variations like "northward" versus "norward" and "whoever" versus "whosoever." These variations can involve morphological, phonological, or spelling differences, such as "weazen" and "weazened," which describe a person's shriveled appearance, or the pronunciation of "directly" as either [di'rektli] or [dai'rektli] Additionally, the spelling variants "whisky" and "whiskey" illustrate this concept Unlike synonyms, lexical variants share phonetic or spelling similarities while maintaining identical meanings and distributions.
Words that share identical stems and similar meanings but differ in usage should be classified as synonyms rather than lexical variants This distinction is noted in various guides on proper English usage Such words, while belonging to the same part of speech and sharing synonymic affixes, do not allow for interchangeable use, often leading to confusion even among native speakers For instance, "luxurious" and "luxuriant" both imply a sense of luxury, yet "luxuriant" specifically refers to abundance in contexts like hair or foliage, while "luxurious" pertains to human indulgence Similarly, "economic" and "economical" can be used interchangeably in certain contexts; however, "economic" typically relates to the field of economics, whereas "economical" refers to cost-effectiveness in everyday situations.
Paronyms are words kindred in origin, sound form and meaning and therefore liable to be mixed but in fact different in meaning and usage and therefore only mistakenly interchanged
The term paronym comes from the Greek para ‗beside‘ and onoma ‗name‘, it enters the lexicological terminology very conveniently alongside such terms as synonyms, antonyms, homonyms and allonyms
Different authors offer varying definitions of paronyms, with some viewing them as words with the same root and others as words that share similar sounds, aligning them with word families or homonyms The value of any definition lies in its ability to reflect the specific theory of the subject being studied and its practical utility Since this book targets future English teachers, it is essential to categorize words based on the challenges they may pose to students Therefore, we adopt a definition that emphasizes not only phonetic and semantic similarities but also the potential errors in their usage.
Antonyms are words of the same part of speech, but opposite in meaning
There are two types of antonyms: antonyms proper and derivational antonyms
Antonyms proper: words of different forms and having completely opposite meanings eg tall – short, beautiful – ugly, thin – thick
Derivational antonyms: two words of the same root, one of which bearing a negative affix eg lock – unlock, polite – impolite, honest – dishonest, careful – careless
Full words express a notion or concept (nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs) eg study, tree, table
Empty words do not have lexical meaning (articles, conjunctions, certain pronouns, prepositions) eg the, in, on, because, off, of
7 The change and development of meaning
Words change when either the denotation and connotation experiences some sort of change
Eg: silly once meant happy
OE: husband master of the house
Meaning is changed either many causes
(i) Extra linguistic causes: connected with development of society, changes in social, political, economic, cultural life, in science and technology
(ii) Linguistic causes: factors acting within language, connected with the system of language
Ellipsis: If a phrase consists of two words one of them can be omitted and its meaning is transferred to its partner:
To propose marriage = to propose
Discrimination of synonyms: the result of borrowing:
Deer: animal, beast (rats, mice and such small deer)
Now it only denotes only a certain kind of animal
One of the synonyms gets new meaning, the other synonyms get this new meaning too
Eg: catch means to understand and its synonyms (grasp, get) acquire this meaning too
(iii) Psychological reasons (taboos, euphemisms)
Psychological reasons concern the avoidance of expressing explicitly problematic concepts such as death, sex…
African-American for coloured / black
The meaning of a word or expression may change over time in two respects: denotation and connotation
Eg: ready: prepared for a ride – prepared for anything
Eg: meat: any (sweetmeat)– animal flesh
Connotation: may be changed in two ways
Eg: knave: boy, servant – rogue
Eg: Minister: a servant, an attendant – head of a state department
Semantic change involves the transition from literal to figurative meanings, often conveyed through figures of speech Among the most widely used figures of speech is the metaphor, derived from the Greek words "meta," meaning change, and "phero," meaning to bear.
Metaphor: a figure of speech based on similarity (hidden comparison between the object/notion generally denoted by the word and the object/notion in question.)
Metaphor gives freshness and vivacity to speech
+ similarity of appearance: (like part of the body) leg of a table, needle's eye, arm of a chair/a river, mouth of a river, tongues of a flame
+ similarity of shape: head of cabbage, teeth of a saw, nose of a plane, bottle neck
+ similarity of size: midget submarine, elephantine task, jumbo jetplane + similarity of position: foot of the mountain/hill /page, head/ tail of a procession, bottom of a page
+ similarity of movement: caterpillar of a tank, to worm, foxtrot
+ similarity of function: head of school/delegation/army, key to the mystery/ a problem
+ similarity of colour: an orange coat, rosy cheeks, lips
+ similarity of sound: The room rang The hall roared with laughter
+ similarity of quality: a lion, a fox, a bee/beaver, a film-star
+ similarity of behaviour: a snake, crocodile's tears, an angel, a bookworm, a wirepuller, an Othello, a Cicero
Metaphoric expressions often emerge from the transfer of spatial relationships to psychological and mental concepts, bridging the gap between the concrete and the abstract For instance, phrases like "to catch an idea," "to take a hint," and "to throw light upon" illustrate how physical actions can represent cognitive processes, enriching our understanding of complex thoughts and experiences.
+ Living metaphor; expression of individual vision or in poetry
'She lent wings to his imagination ' (J London)
And the winds are rude in Biscay's sleepless bay
And beyond them stood the forest,
Stood the groves of singing fine-trees
Green in summer, white in winter,
+ fade (trite) metaphor: that has lost its freshness
Her voice is sweet, fruitful effort
He's an Othello, golden youth
+ dead metaphor: no longer felt as a metaphor to ponder: L ponderare (to weigh) - Mod E (to think over, to consider
+ sustained /prolonged metaphor: the image/is expanded /prolonged 'Mr Pickwick paused, bottle up his vengeance and corked it down.'
SENTENCE MEANING AND UTTERANCE MEANING
On the basis of the principle of compositionality, it is possible to speak about a number of meanings that reside in the sentence: structural, textual, representational and interpersonal
- The structural meaning of the sentence is the kind of meaning that results from a particular arrangement of the parts of the sentence
Our knowledge of English is sufficient to allow us to understand that this sentence is about something that did something to something else
The representational meaning may be defined in terms of experiential and logical functions (meanings)
The experiential function serves to convey ideas, acting as the primary means through which a speaker articulates the essential components of their message This function encompasses references to individuals, objects, situations, events, attributes, locations, actions, and contexts.
Bill Gates gave me books to read after each session
The sentence conveys a clear experiential meaning, highlighting the speaker's actions of giving and reading It reflects on the past, specifically noting that Bill Gates gave books to the speaker after each session This structure emphasizes the actor, the object, and the recipient, creating a coherent understanding of the interaction.
- The logical function relates ideas to each other on an equal or subordinate basis
I came, I saw and I conquered (equality or co-ordination)
I came early so that I could meet her (subordination)
The interpersonal function of language is firstly to:
- establish and maintain social relations (phatic function - used to share feelings or to establish a mood of sociability rather than to communicate information or ideas.)
Good morning / Have a nice day
- influence people‘s behaviour and get things done (instrumental function)
Can you get me some water, please?
The objective of the chapter is to help the learners revise issues of sentence meaning and utterance meaning
- express the speaker‘s feelings, attitudes and opinions
What she said might be right
You must be feeling hungry
- The textual function is to create texts It is this function which helps to give texts coherence and cohesion
A proposition is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs
The state of affairs typically involves persons or things referred to by expressions in the sentence In uttering a declarative sentence, a speaker typically asserts a proposition
The concept of truth is essential in determining if two sentences convey distinct propositions When there exists a scenario where one sentence is true and the other is false, it confirms that the sentences represent different propositions.
True proposition corresponds to facts False propositions do not correspond to facts
There are lions in Africa
Hanoi is uninhabited by human beings
One can entertain propositions in the mind regardless of whether they are true or false, e.g by thinking them, or believing them But only true propositions can be known
If Mary came to the party, Phyllis must have been upset
Was your father in the Navy?
When a speaker utters a simple declarative sentence, he asserts the proposition By uttering a simple interrogative or imperative, a speaker can mention a particular proposition, without asserting its truth
1 Performative utterance and constative utterance
A performative utterance is a statement that simultaneously describes and enacts an action For example, when someone says, "I promise to pay you tomorrow," they are not only making a statement but also performing the act of promising In this way, the utterance serves a dual purpose: it describes the promise and constitutes the act of promising itself.
Performative utterances typically begin with the first-person pronoun "I," followed by a present tense verb that signifies a speech act, such as "I promise," "I congratulate," or "I admit." These verbs, known as performative verbs, encompass a range of actions including apologize, authorize, condemn, declare, and plead.
A constative utterance is defined as an assertion typically expressed through a declarative sentence, distinguishing it from performative utterances For example, the statement "I am trying to get this box open with a screwdriver" serves as a constative utterance because it asserts a specific situation without simultaneously enacting the action described.
A speech act encompasses three interconnected components: the locutionary act, the illocutionary act, and the perlocutionary act The locutionary act refers to the act of articulating a statement that is both meaningful and comprehensible.
A locutionary act encompasses phonetic, linguistic, and referring components, while an illocutionary act conveys meaning through the communicative intent of an utterance, serving functions such as questioning, commanding, greeting, or warning Additionally, a perlocutionary act refers to the outcomes or effects generated by the act of speaking.
An illocutionary act is a linguistic act preformed in uttering certain words in a given context, a perlocutionary act is a non-linguistic act performed as a consequence of the locutionary and illocutionary acts
In communication, a direct speech act occurs when there is a clear relationship between structure and function, such as stating, "It's cold outside." In contrast, an indirect speech act is characterized by a less direct relationship, exemplified by phrases like, "I hereby request that you close the door." Understanding these distinctions is essential for effective communication.
A presupposition is something the speaker assumes to be the case prior to making an utterance
Below are different types of presupposition: a Existential presupposition: (possessive structures, the)
The King of Sweden, the car, the girl next door Mary‘s dog
She didn‘t realize he was ill
We regret telling him c Lexical presupposition: lexical forms
You‘re late again d Structural presupposition: Wh-questions
When did he leave? e Non-factive presupposition: dream, imagine, pretend
I dreamed that I was rich g Counter-factual presupposition: what is presupposed is not only not true, but is the opposite of what is true, ‗or contrary to facts.‘
If you were my friend, you would have helped me (>>you‘re not my friend)
In conversations, it is commonly assumed that participants will engage cooperatively This widespread belief forms the basis of a cooperative principle in communication, which can be further detailed through four specific maxims.
Conversational implicatures arise from the cooperative principle of communication, which includes several maxims that speakers are expected to adhere to during a conversation For instance, when someone says, "I hope you brought the bread and the cheese," it implies an expectation that these items are necessary for the discussion or event at hand.
PHRASEOLOGY
Structural features of set expressions
Set expressions are defined by their stable lexical components and grammatical structure For example, terms like "red flower," "red pen," and "red flag" are free word groups, while "red tape" serves as a set expression that refers to bureaucratic methods.
Semantic features of set expressions
Set expressions often convey meanings that go beyond the literal interpretation of their individual components, making them either completely or partially idiomatic For instance, the phrase "to pull someone's leg" means to tease someone and is considered completely idiomatic In contrast, "to be in high feather," which signifies being in good spirits, is also idiomatic but can be understood through its components Additionally, expressions like "to break the ice" and "to show one's teeth" illustrate partial idiomaticity, as they convey transferred meanings related to overcoming formality in conversation and adopting a threatening attitude, respectively.
Set expressions are fixed phrases that are used consistently in speech, serving as ready-made units, while free word groups are generated spontaneously as needed For example, "to show the white feather" is a set expression meaning to demonstrate fear, whereas "to show one's anger" or "to show great courage" are examples of free word combinations created in the moment.
Proverbs can be categorized based on their meaning-form relationship into three types: phraseological fusions, phraseological unities, and phraseological combinations Phraseological fusions are entirely idiomatic expressions where the overall meaning is unrelated to the meanings of the individual components, such as "to be in high feather," "to beat about the bush," and "white elephant."
Phraseological unities are partially idiomatic expressions where the overall meaning can be interpreted through the metaphorical significance of their individual components Examples include phrases like "to fish in troubled waters," which suggests taking advantage of a chaotic situation, and "to show one's teeth," indicating a display of aggression or assertiveness Other expressions, such as "to wash dirty linen in public," refer to airing private grievances openly, while "a slip of the pen" or "the tongue" denotes an unintentional mistake in writing or speech Additionally, the phrase "Jack of all trades and master of none" describes someone with a variety of skills but lacking expertise in any one area.
Phraseological units, known as fusions and unities, present challenges in classification, as it can be difficult to determine whether a specific expression is a complete or partial idiom This ambiguity arises from the varying degrees of motivation behind these expressions, complicating their categorization as either fusions or unities.
The objective of the chapter is to help the learners re-examine features and main types of English set expressions
Phraseological combinations refer to non-idiomatic word pairings where one component is used in its literal sense while the other carries a metaphorical meaning These combinations are often limited in their ability to pair with other words, making them traditional phrases Examples include expressions such as "to do one's duty," "to make a mistake," "to meet the requirements," "a burning question," "acute pain," and "blank look/face/expression."
Proverbs and idioms
A proverb is a short saying expressing popular wisdom, a truth or a moral lesson in a concise and imaginary way
-He who laughs last laughs best
He laughs best who laughs last
-Two heads are better than one
Their lexical components are stable, or constant;
Their meaning is mostly figurative;
They are ready-made units
Idioms are set expressions, short sayings usually characterized by the fact that their meaning cannot easily be deduced from their components
-like a cat on hot bricks
1 Adrienne Lehrer (1994) Semantic Fields; Structure Amsterdam and London: North Holland
2 Charles C Frawley (1992) Linguistic semal Hillsdale, NJ: Laurence Erlbaum Associates
3 Đặng Trần Cường (2001) Lectures on English Lexicology Unpublished
4 Frank R Palmer (1986) Semantics: A new Outline edn Cambridge: CUP
5 Geoffrey Leech (1983) Principles of pragm London: Longman
6 Hồ Ngọc Trung (2003) Lectures on Discourse Analysis Vietnam Educational
7 James R Hurford and Brendan Heasley (1983) Semantics - Course book
London and New York: CUP
8 John Lyons (1995) Linguistic Semantics: Introduction London: CUP
9 Nguyễn Hòa (2001) An Introduction to Semantics VNU Press
Support each of the following statements by briefly giving reasons and examples
A morpheme is not independent and occurs in speech only as part of a word
1 The root morpheme is also called the lexical morpheme
2 The derivational morpheme carries both lexical and grammatical meaning
3 A derived word is one that consists of a root and one or more derivational morphemes
4 A compound word is one that has at least two roots, with or without derivational morphemes
5 The prefixes such as 'over-','out-', 'up-'… can be considered as homonymous to the words such as: over, out, up
6 Prefixes are classified in many ways, either according to their origin or meaning or function
7 Partial conversion is the building of some nouns from verbs
8 Sound imitation is also called phonetical motivation
9 Some words formed by sound imitation have developed figurative meaning
10 Back-formation is the opposite process to affixation
11 Lexical meaning is the realization of concept or emotion
12 Grammatical meaning is what unites words with different lexical meanings
13 Notional words are those whose lexical meaning is clear
14 Functional words are those whose prevailing meaning is grammatical
15 Lexical and grammatical meaning do not exist separately but always go together to make up the meaning of words
16 Connotation can be considered as an additional meaning to the denotation
17 Morphological motivation is the relationship between morphemes of the word
18 There is similarity between the sound-form of the word and the sound produced by the object the word denotes
19 Homonymy is a source of ambiguity
20 Both metaphor and simile are forms of comparison The former is indirect and the latter direct
21 Metaphor may be extended into simile and simile may be condensed into a metaphor
22 Set expressions can be either unchangeable or changeable
23 Set expressions can function as nouns, verbs, adjectives………
24 The meaning of proverbs is usually figurative and they are ready-made units
25 English words vary in their phonological (syllable) and morphological structure
26 Stress- placement also takes part in English word-formation
27 English compound words differ in level of their semantic motivation
28 Metaphor and metonymy are often used in English idioms
30 From a given word we can never form a new word without changing its morphological feature
I Which negative adjective fits each of the following definition?
1 ……… not having a husband or wife
3 ……… means unable to read and write
5 ……… means fair in giving judgement, not favouring one side
6 ……… means unable to be replaced
II Rewrite the following sentences, using prefixes
1 He's in favour of the American approach
2 The BBC tried to avoid pronouncing foreign words incorrectly
3 Most people say they have to work too hard but are paid too little
4 He dated his cheque with a date that was late than the real date
5 She's still on good terms with the man who used to be her husband
6 He made so many mistakes in the letter that he had to write it again
III Use your knowledge of prefixes to write definitions of the underlined words
Jim, a semi-literate ex-soldier, struggles with writing letters, often needing his wife to correct his numerous misspellings His wife, who previously worked in a post office sub-department handling mail redirects, holds a contrasting view on the military; while Jim is a staunch supporter who highlights its benefits, she tends to downplay its positive contributions.
IV arch- (chief, main, highest-ranking) out- (more, better etc than) mal- (badly, wrongly) pseudo- (false, pretended) Put each of the above prefixes in its correct space in the sentences below
1 In my opinion this book is just …….-intellectual rubbish
2 Although he was older than his wife, he ……… lived her by ten years
3 Priests are not often ambitious men, but he had set his heart on becoming
4 The launch of the space-rocket was delayed by a ……… function in the fuel system
5 At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Britain's …… -enemy was France
6 He completely ……… boxed his opponent and knocked him out in the seventh round
7 Children who grow up in time of war are more likely to be …….adjusted than other children
8 He uses …… -scientific language to persuade his readers
9 These squalid, dark, cramped, ………odorous rooms are homes to whole families of people
10 She was the finest dancer in the country She …… shone all the others
V a- (not, without) hyper- (extremely, too) fore- (before, in front of) neo- (new, revived) Put each of the above prefixes in its correct space in the sentences below
1 The British Museum was built in the middle of the last century in the
………-classical style popular at that time
2 Who can ……… tell what the future holds for us?
3 It's no use asking him about the political system or the parties He didn‘t know or care He's completely ……… political
4 It's quite normal to complain if you think something is wrong, but I do feel that you are sometimes ……….critical
5 The authorities are concerned at the activities of a small ………-Nazi movement
6 You must be very careful what you say about her poems She's a…….sensitive person
7 She didn‘t know the difference between right and wrong She had no conscience of all She was simply ……….moral
8 The police claimed that she had some ……….knowledge of the murder attempt and could have prevented it
9 He was standing in the middle, in the ……….ground of the picture
10 Young children can sometimes be ……… active, which means that they can‘t keep still
VI -phobia (fear or hatred of) -cide (killer, killing) -gamy (marriage) Put each of the above suffixes in its correct place in the sentences below
(a) Those rose-bushes need protection Spray them with insecti……
(b) He gets very tense and nervous in enclosed spaces like lifts and the underground He suffers from claustro……
(c) The custom of having more than one wife or husband is known as ‗poly……‘ (d) Some people, and some animals, are terrified of water This aversion is known as aqua……
(e) His problems overwhelmed him and he finally comitted sui……
(f) When he was arrested and charged with bi…… , both his wives stood by him (g) His Anglo…… comes from some bad experiences he had in England
(h) Following the man's death, his wife was charged with homi……
VII -maniac (obsessed person) -phile (lover of) -monger (dealer in) Put each of the above suffixes in its correct place in the sentences below
(b) He has always been a biblio……… and has amassed a vast collection of books over the years
(c) He has a shop selling pots and pans, tools and other metal goods He's an iron…
(d) He's unbelievably self-centred and arrogant He's a complete ego……
She cherished her year in Italy, becoming an avid fan of its culture While some journalists are genuinely honest and well-intentioned, she thrives on gossip and rumors, reducing her work to mere sensationalism.
(g) A klepto…… is a person who has a compulsive desire to steal
(h) His fondness for drink became an addiction, and his doctor says he's now a dipso………
VIII -worthy (deserving, fit for) -like (similar to) -most (furthest) Put each of the above suffixes in its correct place in the sentences below
(a) To me, at 14, the film-stars I saw at my local cinema were god…… creatures (b) John O'Groats in Scotland is the northern…… town in mainland Britain
(c) We are pleased to present you with this award for your praise…… work among the poor of this city
(d) In the old days it was not considered lady……… for a woman to smoke in public, if at all
(e) Architecture during that period was very boring Almost every building was a box- _ structure, with no variation or decoration to please the eye
(f) We're looking for an honest, reliable, trust person to handle our legal affairs
(g) He betrayed the inner…… secrets of his country's government to the enemy (h) A small accident like that won't appear in the papers It isn't news…… enough
IX –wards (in the direction of) -esque (like, in the manner of) -some (causing, making) Put each of the above suffixes in its correct place in the sentences below
(a) I have a backache which is a bit trouble……… at times
(b) He cast his eyes heaven……… as if imploring God for help or pity
(c) It's very pictur……… here, with the trees attractively framing the view of the river
(d) From Colombia we went south…… through Equador, Peru and Bolivia to Argentina
(e) Man's first view of the earth from space was an awe…… sight
(f) The back garden faces sea…… so you can always be sure of a pleasant view (g) I'm afraid I find her constant chatter gets a bit weari after a while
(h) The architecture here is rather Roman…… Look at the round arches and thick walls
X -scape (scenery) -scope (means of observing) -ette, -let, -ling (small) Put each of the above suffixes in its correct place in the sentences below
(a) Even the most powerful tele…… does not make the smallest stars visible (b) I watched a drop…… of rain move slowly down the window
(c) His most famous sea… was painted in 1879 and hangs in the National Gallery (d) A gos…… is a young goose
(e) The award takes the form of a silver statu…… of the Greek god, Adonis
(f) The first television picture of the hitherto mysterious moon…… was the most dramatic sight I have ever seen
(g) His home is in the country and he's wondering if he can afford to buy a flat… in London too
(h) The crew of a submarine just below the surface can see what is happening above by looking through the peri……
(i) Travelling by car, you have the chance to stop in the countryside to admire the land………
XI Complete each sentence with a word made from the word in capitals
1 Little Jimmy has been a bit ………today Trouble
2 The fuel ………of this car is rather high consume
3 I was so angry I was absolutely……… Speech
4 You cannot enter the country without the………documents Require
5 Janet had to………from the team because of injury Draw
6 I‘m sure that the whole problem is a simple……… understand
7 The meeting adopted a ………calling for Smith to resign Resolve
8 The government has taken a ………decision to ban motorcycles controversy
9 Dave isn‘t really a friend, only an……… acquaint
10 The cost of ………to the show is quite reasonable Admit
1 His health was seriously affected and he suffered from constant
2 He bowed to the small girl with elaborate……… courteous
3 She made no………to our conversation of the night before Refer
4 This matter is very……… Don‘t discuss it outside the office confidence
6 Ants and bees are described as……… insects industry
7 It is thoroughly dishonest and ………to cheat in an examination Honour
8 I‘m afraid this iron you sold me is……… Fault
9 His boss told him off because he had behaved ……… responsible
10 I read an article about………among school-leavers Employ
1 I think there won‘t be too much ………to pass the exams Difficult
2 The man was drowning But I stood and watched ………to help as I couldn‘t swim
3 Some people claim to be able to ………the future Tell
4 All matters concerning finance in his office are his………because he is the boss responsible
5 I could never be a teacher I‘m far too……… Patient
6 The boy wants a prize for good……… at school Behave
7 During the war, there was a great………of foods and goods Short
8 Money can‘t exactly buy your………, at least it helps you suffer in comfort
9 It‘s almost………… for vehicles to move forward where there is a traffic jam
10 There is now………of useful birds and insects in the rice fields due to the overuse of fertilizers
1 I would like to book a………to Hong Kong Fly
2 This knife is very much blunt It needs……… Sharp
3 I don‘t want my money back I want a ……… Replace
4 I‘m afraid this iron you sold me is……… Fault
5 We have had a lot of………from customers today complain
6 The cash and carry price is only $50 but they charge extra for
7 These shoes look smart but they‘re terribly……… Comfort
8 Always read a label on a product, it can give you some useful
9 It‘s a nice shop and the assistant are all polite and very……… Help
10 When I have to wait for a long time to be served I start to feel
5 Paraphrase the following sentences using affixes:
1 They are people who live on an island
2 There are no languages that have no grammar
3 He‘s far from being polite while his wife is too polite
4 They didn‘t make public what had been discussed in the talk
5 The local authorities are trying to reduce the damage caused by the fire to the minimum
6 The government is trying to make imported goods legal
7 Her behaviour made him mad
8 The story was made simple for the schoolchildren‘s reading
9 His feelings for her made him blind to her faults
10 He‘s a man whose occupation is to produce films,
XII Mark the underlined words in each pair of sentences with /P/ if they are poly-semantic or with /H/ if they are homonymous
1 a He is a member of the Liberal Party b The hostess gave the guests a lavish dinner party
2 a Where can I park my car? b Have you ever been to the Cuc Phuong National Park?
3 a She is good at languages b Is this water good to drink?
4 a She found it hard to make up her mind b You should try hard to succeed in your business
5 a The criminal has got a life sentence for his murder b Combine the sentences below to form a compound one
6 a The greater part of what you heard is only rumour b He acted his part very well
7 a What country do you know is the biggest on earth? b She filled the pot with earth and planted a rose in it
8 a Please post this letter for me
9 a The slow train is pulling up at the station b He is slow to make a decision
10 a He is writing a book about Vietnamese culture b Seats on trains should be booked far in advance before Tet
XIII Rewrite the following sentences below forming a compound adjective from the underlined words
1 Then entered a man with a pale face
2 She has just bought a pair of gloves knitted by hand
3 He went hunting but returned with his hand empty
4 They have just invented a material proof against fire
5 The man was proved to be a murderer thirsty for blood
6 He behaves like a man with a mind of a child
7 The crow was stricken with panic by the storm
8 She felt sick from the sea travel as she was on the voyage for the first time
9 The southern off shore waters were found rich of oil
10 Their teacher was a man with kind heart
11 She was wearing shoes with high heels
12 This coat in expensive because it is proof against bullet
13 He only works part of the time
14 This is a piece of work that consumes a lot of time
15 Suddenly appeared a beautiful girl with curly hair
XIV Make compound words (with hyphens if necessary) according to the definitions, using the word given as the first part of the compound
Example: one who steals goods while pretending to be a customer shop…
1 made of material that will not burn fire
1 company or group of men that put out fires fire
2 person who keeps accounts (e.g of a business) book
2 person devoted to reading book
3 printed notice circulated by hand hand
3 not made by machine hand
4 someone who often goes to the theatre play
4 piece of land for children to play on play
5 circumstance that brings enlightenment and surprise eye
5 one who has himself seen something happens eye
XV Fill each space in the sentences below with the correct form of the word in bold print above it
(a) We must come to a …… very soon
(b) We beat them ……… We won 7-0
(c) He can never make up his mind He's very ………
(c) They're going to……… the town with more trees and parks
(a) To buy this car I made a monthly ………… of $280 for two years
(b) Please make your cheque ………… to John Watson
(c) The person a cheque is made out to is called the …………
(a) She works as a ………… at a hotel in Scotland
(b)' Ask for a ………when you buy something, in case you need to return it (c) I made several suggestions to improve production, but the management was not very ……… to my ideas
(a) He received a medal for his ………
(a) ……… of the new sports car has been halted by a strike
(b) China is one of the world's leading ……… of rice
(c) I'm afraid the talks were totally…… We didn't reach agreement on anything
(a) An ……… leaflet is given to all purchasers of the machine
(b) His disappearance is very strange, in fact quite ………
(c) I think you owe me an ……… for your behaviour
(a) This is ……… better than that In fact, there is really no……… (b) Scientists have made ……… tests on the new drugs
Travel to that country is currently inadvisable until the situation stabilizes The government has established an authoritative body to address the use of drugs in sports Additionally, I question the safety of consuming alcohol while receiving that medical treatment.
9 admire a) She was a pleasant, attractive girl, always surrounded by ………
(h) I am full of ……… for what she has achieved
(c) I approve of him wholeheartedly He is an ……… man
(a) To ……… the boat in rough sea, we redistributed the weight
(b) Between 1860 and 1900 the country had a number of revolutions and uprisings
It was a time of great ………
(c) The exchange rate is going up and down dramatically It's very …… at the moment
(a) We're spending too much We must ………
(b) This car uses a lot of petrol It's terribly ………
(c) The Chancellor (Minister of Finance) is responsible for ……… affairs
(a) Buckingham Palace is the Queen's official ……… in London (b) There's no industry or entertainment here It's a ……… district (c) All ……… of the neighbouring houses were warned of the gas leak
(a) In that tense situation I found the good news very ………
(b) I felt rather ……., so I put a soft cushion behind me
(c) She sat in terrible ……… on the hard chair for over an hour
(a) The increasing number of … in traffic accidents is alarming
(c) The doctor gave him an injection to ………… the pain
(a) The ……… marched through the streets chanting slogans
(b) Grandfather rarely showed the affection he felt for his family He was a very
(c) What you say is ……… false Let me show you the facts
XVI Choose the best option A, B, C or D to complete the sentences below Circle your choice
1 Substantivization of adjectives refers to the case in which an adjective is converted into a(n) ………
2 ……… are sayings which express popular wisdom, a truth or a moral lesson
3 Zero derivation and functional change are the other names of ………
A affixation B conversion C back derivation D sound imitation
4 Homophones are words identical in ……… but different in spelling
A meaning B pronunciation C parts of speech D form
5 There are three types of motivation of words, namely morphological,
6 careful and careless are called ………antonyms
7 In radial polysemy all the transferred meanings are formed on the basis of one
8 ………is a figure of speech based on contiguity or close relation between two objects or notions
9 The use of teeth in teeth of a saw is a case of ………
10 All affixal morphemes are ………morphemes
XVII Complete the following sentences
1 Semantically, homonyms differ from poly-semantic words in that
2 In terms of the relation between components, English compounds are classified into
3 The formation of exam from examination is called ………
4 A derived word is one which ………
5 Four main ways of semantic change in English are………
XVIII Say whether the following statements are true or false Write T for True and F for False in the blanks
………… 1 Set expressions are characterized by the stability of their lexical components and grammatical structure
………… 2 Conversion is a way of coining new words in different parts of speech
………… 3 Semantic motivation can be found in mono-semantic words
………… 4 Prefixes can be classified based on meaning
………… 5 Antonyms are words of different parts of speech with opposite meanings
XIX Fill in the space with suitable words convey pronouns sentence work competence see understand consider entity words
In discussing communication, it is essential to differentiate between sentence meaning and speaker meaning This distinction implies that sentences possess inherent meanings that exist independently of their specific usage, which speakers then adapt to convey their intended message at any given moment Under this framework, semantics focuses on the meanings of sentences, while pragmatics examines the meanings intended by the speaker This differentiation can be particularly useful in analyzing various aspects of language use.
The use of context is crucial for understanding meaning in communication For instance, when someone asks, "Is he awake?" the listener must consider two key aspects to grasp the intended message First, the listener needs to recognize that the term "he" refers to a male individual mentioned by the speaker, rather than the speaker or the listener themselves Second, the listener must identify who the speaker is referring to in the moment Understanding the first aspect falls under semantic knowledge, while interpreting the second requires pragmatic skills.
XX In each of the following pairs of sentences, do the sentences have the same or different proposition?
Harry took out the garbage
Harry took the garbage out
Mary was given a book by John
George didn‘t dance with Ethel
Dr Findlay caused Janet to die
XII Fill in the space with suitable words examples conditions rhetorical expressions uses figurative ways speakers metaphorical litotes
Non-literal uses of language, traditionally referred to as figures of speech, encompass various terms such as metaphor, irony, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, and others We will explore these terms in more detail later However, it can be challenging to clearly distinguish between literal and non-literal language, as the boundaries are often blurred.
Languages evolve as speakers adapt the meanings of words to reflect new concepts One way this occurs is through metaphorical extension, where a new idea is expressed using familiar terms Initially, the metaphorical nature of the new expression is evident, as seen in various examples.
………….glass ceiling for promotional barriers to women, or surfing' the internet
Slightly older coining might include mouse for the computer keyboard extension, or expressions like toy boy, or junk bonds After a while such expressions become
XXI Underline the metaphoric expressions and state what type of similarity they express Similarity of
1 a green apple; green with envy /………./
2 the wings of a bird; the wings of an aeroplane
3 the root of a tree; the root of the matter
4 the neck of a girl; the neck of a bottle
5 He wandered; his thoughts wandered
XXII Which of the following utterances are perfomative?
5 I hereby inform you that you are sacked
6 I give you supper every night
XXIII Discuss the relation in metonymy
1 I have never read Balzac in the original /………./
2 My sister is fond of old china /………./
3 The coffee-pot is boiling /………./
5 He succeeded to the crown /………./
6 She was the pride of her school /………./
8 The dog has a good nose /………./
9 The room roared with laughter /………./
10 You should sell your brains, not your muscle /………./
XXIV Match each of the following common proverbs with the most appropriate situation from the list below
Actions often hold more significance than mere words, and one should appreciate gifts without questioning their value In unfamiliar places, it's wise to adopt local customs, while it's important to avoid assuming outcomes before they materialize Family ties are strong, and taking preventive measures is more effective than seeking solutions after problems arise Kindness begets kindness, and seizing opportunities when they arise can lead to success.
1 Yes, you‘re probably pass the exam, but don't depend on it till you near the result
2 Make the most out of life while you can, while you're young and without any big responsibilities
3 Well, the cassette recorder he gave you may have a few defects, but you shouldn't complain It cost you nothing
4 I'm not impressed by fine speeches Why doesn't the government do something?
5 Don't wait till you've got flu Try not to catch it
6 If you're in a foreign country, you should get used to the customs there
7 I'll probably lose my job by going there to help him, but he's in trouble and he is my brother
8 Yes, of course I‘ll help you You lent me a hand last week
(b) It never rains but it pours
(d) A bad workman blames his tools
(e) Too many cooks spoil the broth
(f) It's no use crying over spilt milk
(h) Absence makes the heart grow fonder
1 Well, it‘s a pity but it‘s in the past now and there's nothing we can do about it
2 Oh, my God, I‘ve got tickets for the wrong day and they ruined my suit at the cleaners and my wallet was stolen and I forgot my wife's birthday
4 I‘m not investing my money in that company again I lost everything last time I did
5 Ask her out to dinner If you don't, you'll never know if she likes you
6 He was over-confident He thought he couldn't go wrong, but then he got complacent and failed the all-important exam
7 Do we really need so many of us to do this job? Won't we get in each other's way?
8 It's not my fault I haven't finished this typing yet It's not a very good machine and the stuff I have to copy is very difficult to read
XXV Explain the meaning of the underlined words
1 The clerk was eyeing him expectantly
2 An aggressive man battled his way to Stout's side
3 How on earth do you remember to milk the cows ?
4 Restaurants in all large cities have their ups and downs
5 Ten minutes later I was speeding along in the direction of Cape Town
6 "A man could be very happy in a home like this if he didn't have to poison his days with work," said Jimmy
7 The desk clerk handed me the key
8 The upshot seemed to be that I was left to face life with the sum of $ 124
9 My seat was in the middle of the row I couldn't leave without inconveniencing a great many people, so I remained
10 Under the cover of that protective din he was able to toy with a steaming dish which his waiter had brought
GRAMMAR
This chapter offers a theoretical outline of English grammar aimed at university English departments, introducing contemporary grammatical study through modern analytical techniques applied to various aspects of living English speech It seeks to familiarize students with key linguistic issues related to grammatical structures and the methods used to address them, particularly the relationship between morphology and syntax The course is structured into two modules, balancing practical and theoretical descriptions; the former provides students with a practical mastery of language, while the latter focuses on analytical insights into the language's inner structure Ultimately, the goal of theoretical grammar is to scientifically analyze and define grammatical categories and understand how utterances are formed from words during speech.
The grammatical structure of language consists of two main components: morphology and syntax, which are interdependent and together form the study of grammar Morphology focuses on the internal structure of words, examining morphemes and their relationships within paradigms, as well as the realization of morphological categories In contrast, syntax addresses how words are combined into larger units, such as word-groups, sentences, and texts, exploring their external functions and meanings Additionally, syntax investigates the behavior of syntactic units in various contexts.
This section will focus on two main aspects of theoretical grammar: the principles of grammar and the rules for word formation, known as Morphology Traditionally, this topic is regarded more as a school subject than as a branch of linguistics.
2 The subject matter: The grammatical categories and syntactic functions of language units, the basic clause/sentence structures, the clause/sentence elements and their realization.
PARTS OF SPEECH
Objectives: After finishing this module, learners will be able to review
- Major issues related to syntax and morphology
- Sentence/clause structures and the rules for arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentence
- The grammatical categories and syntactic functions of language units, the basic clause/sentence structures, the clause/sentence elements and their realization
Language words are categorized into grammatical classes known as parts of speech, which are defined by three criteria: shared meaning, morphological characteristics, and typical sentence functions The concept dates back to Ancient Greece, where Aristotle identified nouns, verbs, and connectives Traditional English grammar recognizes eight parts of speech: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection, with some sources including articles Modern classifications differentiate between notional parts of speech, which have full nominative value, and functional parts, which possess partial nominative value Notional words include nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, pronouns, numerals, statives, modal words, and interjections.
Functional words in English include prepositions, conjunctions, articles, and particles, with postpositions often considered redundant as they function similarly to prepositions and adverbs The classification of modal words and particles as distinct functional classes is debatable since they are fundamentally adverbs The grammatical role of the English article remains ambiguous, with interpretations ranging from auxiliary word to detached morpheme Nouns convey the essence of "thingness" and can change in number and case, serving as subjects, objects, and predicates in sentences Adjectives describe object properties and include qualitative and relative types, with qualitative adjectives displaying degrees of comparison Verbs denote processes and possess six grammatical categories: person, number, tense, aspect, voice, and mood, functioning primarily as predicates, while non-finite forms serve various syntactic roles Adverbs reflect secondary properties and can also show degrees of comparison Pronouns indicate objects and properties without naming them, while numerals express quantity and maintain invariable forms Statives describe transient states, and modal words communicate the speaker's attitude toward the sentence context Interjections signal emotions, and prepositions illustrate relationships among noun referents, whereas conjunctions denote connections between phenomena Articles specify nouns within communicative contexts, and particles convey limiting meanings Each part of speech is further categorized based on semantic, formal, and functional characteristics, with nouns, verbs, and adjectives divided into numerous subcategories.
Words that share common characteristics are categorized into parts of speech These parts can be divided into open classes, which allow for new additions, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, or closed classes, which consist of prepositions, conjunctions, and pronouns.
I Parts of speech – the classification
1 The Noun: Count – Non-count N, Common – Proper N, Concrete – Abstract N
+ Lexical verbs: Intensive – Extensive, Dynamic – Stative, Transitive – Intransitive The transitive verb may be: mono-transitive, di-transitive, and complex-transitive + Auxiliary V: Primary – Modal Auxiliary V
3 The Adjective: Central – Attributive – Predicative Adj, Stative – Dynamic Adj,
4 The Adverb: The most important classification of adverbs is that according to their meaning: Adverb of time – of place – of reason, etc
II Parts of speech – the grammatical categories
Nouns are categorized by number into invariable and variable types Invariable nouns can be singular only, such as "furniture" and "homework," or plural only, like "scissors" and "the Philippines." Most invariable nouns fall under the non-count category Conversely, variable nouns can be used in both singular and plural forms, exemplified by "boy" and "boys," and are classified as count nouns.
Non-count nouns can often transform into count nouns by shifting from abstract or general meanings to more concrete or specific interpretations For example, "difficulty" can become "difficulties," "light" can be referred to as "lights," "paper" can denote "a paper," and "beauty" can be expressed as "a beauty."
Nouns are paired with various determiners, including articles (a, the, zero), pronouns, and quantifiers Articles play a crucial role as they always accompany nouns, with options being the indefinite article "a," the definite article "the," or no article at all The selection of the appropriate article is largely influenced by the meaning of the noun phrase Additionally, there are specific general guidelines governing the use of articles.
1.2 Case : ‗s genitive & of-genitive: a teacher‘s book; the cover of a book
In English grammar, both the -s genitive and the of-genitive can be used to indicate possession Typically, animate nouns, such as people and higher animals, prefer the -s genitive, while inanimate nouns, including objects and lower animals, usually adopt the of-genitive However, there is significant flexibility and overlap in the usage of these two forms.
2.1 Tense – to indicate time of action/state: Present – Past tense
2.2 Aspect – to denote the manner in which the action/state is performed: Simple –
2.3 Voice – to denote the relationship between the Subject and the Verb element:
2.4 Mood – to indicate the speaker‘s attitude to the predication (action/state):
Note 1: Tense is a gr category of E verbs to express time relation through the form of the verb Tense, Time, Form, all of them are involved in the usage of English verbs, but they are of different concepts For instance, there are five forms of the verb: base form (do/to do), -s form (does), -ed past form (did), -ing participle (doing), - ed participle (done) but only three of them are used for Tenses: base form and -s form are used in Present tense, -ed past – in past tense , and the present tense can be used to express different time: present, future, even past time Time is not a linguistic term
Note 2: There is no obvious correspondence between the verb-form and future time; in linguistic terms, there is no future tense in English We have many devices to denote future time (will/shall + V, be going to +V, present progressive, simple present, be to + infinitive, be about to + V, …)
Verbs have five forms, each serving distinct grammatical functions The base form is used for the present tense (excluding third person singular), in imperative sentences, the subjunctive mood, and as both the bare infinitive and to-infinitive The -s form is specifically utilized for the third person singular in the present tense The -ed past form applies to the past tense and the subjunctive mood The -ing participle is employed for the progressive aspect and in -ing participle clauses Lastly, the -ed participle is used for the perfect aspect, passive voice, and in -ed participle clauses.
Regular verbs have identical forms for the -ed past and -ed participle, while irregular verbs exhibit a range of forms, varying from three to eight different variations For example, the verb "put" has forms such as put, puts, and putting, whereas the verb "be" includes eight forms: be, am, is, are, was, were, been, and being.
The only grammatical category of Adjective & Adverb is that of Comparison with three degrees: Absolute (quick - quickly) – Comparative (quicker) – Superlative (quickest) degree.
PHRASES- STRUCTURES AND SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS
- Major issues related to syntax and morphology
- Sentence/clause structures and the rules for arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentence
- The grammatical categories and syntactic functions of language units, the basic clause/sentence structures, the clause/sentence elements and their realization
A phrase is generally understood as a combination of two or more words that function as a grammatical unit, distinct from analytical forms like perfect verb tenses This definition allows for the components of a phrase to come from any part of speech Additionally, V offers an alternative interpretation of the term "phrase."
V Vinogradov, stipulating that a phrase must contain at least two notional words The inconvenience of this restriction for English grammar is that the group
The classification of phrases in syntax often overlooks the structure of "preposition + noun." Typically, phrases consist of two to five constituents, though this can extend to six or eight, limited by human cognitive capacity The structural identity of a phrase can be demonstrated through substitution and representation methods Substitution involves using pro-forms, such as pronouns (he, she, it, they) or other items (that, those, some), to replace noun-phrases, while time and place adjuncts can also be represented by specific pro-forms In contrast, representation employs parts of a phrase without adding extra words, often using auxiliary or modal verbs, which is common in English However, both methods lack rigor, as pro-forms can sometimes represent both phrases and their constituents A phrase functions similarly to a word in naming phenomena or processes, with its components able to change according to grammatical categories Conversely, a sentence is a complete unit of communication, where each word maintains a specific form, and any alteration results in a new sentence Intonation plays a critical role in distinguishing sentences from phrases.
A phrase consists of a head word accompanied by modifiers or complements When a phrase stands alone, it may lack modifiers Phrases are fundamental components for syntactic analysis in sentences, with the head word determining the syntactic function and establishing agreement with other phrases in the sentence.
1 Structure a Basic Noun Phrase: Closed system Pre-modifier + Head Noun (the table, all these people)
Article: definite a(n)/indefinite the , , e.g.: an old man, boys
Possessive: my, your, his, her, their, e.g.: my brother, their discussion,
Demonstrative: this, that, these, those, e.g.: this book, these boys
Interrogative: whose, which, what, e.g.: which colour, whose books
Indefinite: some, any, every, each, e.g.: some water, any car(s), every
In the basic NPs, these words are central elements of pre-modifiers
-Pre-determiners (= words preceding Determiners):
Inclusives: all, both, half, e.g.: all the books
Multipliers: double, twice, three times, e.g.: double your salary
Fractions: one-third, two-fifths, e.g.: one-third (of) this book/the stud
-Post-determiners (= words coming after Determiners):
Quantifiers Closed-system : man, little, few, E.g.: many books, few apples
Open class : a lot of, good deal of, a great number of,
+ A common noun with zero modifier: Pens are used for writing
+ Proper noun with/without modifier realised by closed system items:
(A) Mr John wants to see you
+ Common Noun with closed system item: a/my/this book
+ Pronoun with zero modifier: I like him Nothing compares to you
Today, three individuals are absent A complex noun phrase consists of open-class modifiers combined with a head noun, where modifiers can appear either before or after the head noun For example, in the phrase "the beautiful girl standing over there," "the beautiful" serves as a pre-modifier, while "standing over there" acts as a post-modifier.
* The realizations/expressions of modifier + Pre-modifiers: By Adjectives (a difficult question), by Nouns (school children), and (rarely) by Adverbs (quite a problem)
- By phrases: Prepositional phrases (students in Hanoi), Adjectives (students good at English), Adverbs (students here)
- By clauses: Relative clauses (students who are learning English) and by non-finite clauses (students learning English)
Oi (I ask my students some questions.)
Cs (You are my students)
Co (What makes you my students?)
Cprep (I take pride in my students)
Cadj (That book is worth the money)
App (I love them, my students), and rarely: Pre-modifier (Student life is not easy.)
A (I‘ll see you next week.)
- Simple finite VP: a lexical V with its form based on an S-V concord to show the simple tenses – present or past (He comes – simple present tense, third person, singular)
A complex finite verb phrase (VP) comprises an auxiliary verb, which is modified according to subject-verb concord to indicate the tense, aspect, and/or voice of the VP, along with a lexical verb in its base form For example, in the sentence "He has come," the present perfect tense is illustrated through the auxiliary verb "has" and the base form of the lexical verb "come."
- Complementation of the finite verb phrases: a, Intensive verbs: take Cs or A(obligatory)
Current intensive: be, appear, feel, look, smell, seem, sound, remain, keep, stay
Her dream came true /He got tired
- All these intensive verbs are intransitive verbs with intensive complementation
(sentence types SVC and SVA) b, Intransitive verbs: With zero complementation He arrived Sentence type SV c, Mono-transitive verbs: takes one object:
He wrote a letter (This pen writes very well) improve
- Sentence pattern: SVO d, Ditransitive verbs: take two objects (S-V-O-O) He gave me his book
- With ditransitive complementation: sentence type SVOO e Complex transitive verbs: take Od Co or Od A
I think life to be thus
I have my hair cut I grow my hair long
With SVOA type: put, place, stand, hang
They put him in a good position
They hit him on the head
With complex transitive complementation (sentence types SVOC and SVOA)
Non-finite verb phrases (VP) lack tense and subject-verb agreement, encompassing both simple forms like "to do" and complex forms that convey aspect or voice, such as "to have done" or "having done." There are three primary forms of non-finite verbs: the base form (which can be bare or in the infinitive), the -ing participle, and the -ed participle.
+ Finite Verb phrases function as Predicate sentences (We have been learning
+ Non-finite Verb phrases can take many different functions, and in sentences they are normally referred to as Non-finite clauses:
A (We come here to learn English)
S (To learn/learning is not easy.)
Cs (Our duty is to learn/learning.)
Co (We want our English to be practically useful)
Cadj (Our English is sure to be better.)
Cprep (We can learn a lot from making mistakes)
App (Our task, to master English, is rather challenging.)
Modifier (Look at the sitting man; he is looking attentively at the people sitting outside)
+An Adjective phrase is a phrase with an adjective as Head (very happy) or as sole realization (happy) For convenience, Adjectives phrases are normally referred to simply as Adjectives only
+ Adjectives may be modified by Adverb phrases (very happy)
Modifier (good students – students good at English)
Cs (my students are very dynamic)
Co (Foreign languages will make us more dynamic) and rarely as: Head noun (The rich are helping the poor.)
An adverb phrase consists of a phrase that features an adverb as its head, such as "far more easily," or as its sole component, like "easily." Similar to adjective phrases, adverb phrases are commonly referred to simply as adverbs.
+ An adverb may be modified by another adverb (far more)
2 Syntactic functions e/ Adverb phrase might take the functions as:
Modifier of Adjective (very good)
Modifier of Adverb (rather more difficult)
Modifier of Determiner (about ten people)
Modifier of Noun Phrase (such a big family)
Modifier of Preposition (right through the wall)
+ There are two obligatory components in a prepositional phrase: a preposition as Head and the prepositional complement (in the room)
+ The prepositional complement is realized variously: By a NP (at the door), by a finite clause (in what you have said), and by non- finite clause (in learning English)
Preposition Phrase might take the functions as
Post-modifier in NP (Students in our faculty will win)
CLAUSES
Objectives: After finishing this module, learners will be able to review
- Major issues related to syntax and morphology
- Sentence/clause structures and the rules for arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentence
- The grammatical categories and syntactic functions of language units, the basic clause/sentence structures, the clause/sentence elements and their realization
A clause is formed by combining multiple phrases in a specific order to convey information, where each phrase serves as a clause element such as Subject, Verb, Object, Adverbial, or Complement Typically, a clause includes a Subject-Verb structure.
The construction of a clause is essential, as it serves as a fundamental unit of syntax; essentially, a sentence is a self-sufficient clause Both clauses and sentences share the same basic structural framework.
+ Superordinate/main/independent clause = the whole sentence
Subordinate or dependent clauses serve as essential elements within a superordinate clause, functioning as subjects, objects, complements, or adverbials These clauses often act as phrase components, such as in the example "The man who helped me is there," where the subordinate clause acts as a post-modifier of the noun phrase Indicators of subordination play a crucial role in identifying these clauses.
- Formal indicators: In the sentence, we can notice subordinator(s) which may be sub-classified:
Simple: because, if, since, that, when, while, etc ,
Compound: if, as though, so as, so that, in order that
Correlatives: so that, more than, such that, no sooner than, hardly when
Pronouns: (S, O, C in subordinate clause) who, which, that
Adverbs: (A in subordinate clause) where, when, how, why
- Absence of subordinator: in non-finite clause acting as S, O, C
- Nominal clauses : functioning as S,O,C – Finite (that-cl, wh-cl, if/whether cl.) + Non-finite ( to-V, V or V-ing)
- Adverbial clauses: functioning as Adjunct and Disjunct – Finite (as if, while…) Non-finite (to-V, V-ing, V-ed2), Verbless (adj, if/when + A)
- Relative clauses: function post-modifier – only finite clause
Comment clauses: functioning as Adjunct, Disjunct and Conjunct- Finite clause, Non-finite clause ( to-V, V-ing)
+ Finite clauses: In finite clauses there is an S-V construction and S-V concord (He is a student)
Non-finite clauses typically feature an implicit subject that should logically connect to the explicit subject in the main clause These clauses utilize non-finite verb forms, such as the to-infinitive (e.g., "We come here to learn English"), the gerund (e.g., "Learning English helps us understand our mother tongue better"), or the past participle (e.g., "Spoken widely around the world, English has become an international language") Notably, if a subject is present in a non-finite clause, it will not exhibit subject-verb agreement, as illustrated in the sentence, "The train come late, we took a taxi."
Verbless clauses are structures where both the subject and the verb are implied, allowing their meaning to be inferred from the main clause For example, in the sentence "When at home, we feel easy," the absence of an explicit verb creates a seamless connection to the primary idea, enhancing the clarity and flow of the statement.
+ Nominal clauses (functioning like NP): That-clause, Wh-inter clause, Nominal relative clause, Yes-no interrogative clause and Nominal non-finite clause
- ―That‖ clause: That he is the best student of this group is widely accepted
- ―Wh-‖ clause: Who will go there is a question
- Nominal rel.cl Whoever went there was given a small book
- Yes/no interr Whether he‘ll help us or not is not certain yet
- ―To‖ infinitive: It is easy to learn grammar
- Bare infinitive: Run away was what we could do then
-Ing participle: It is no use crying over the milk spilt
- ―That‖ clause: We know that you are rich
- ―Wh-‖ clause: I didn‘t know why you didn‘t love me
- Nominal rel.cl I can‘t understand whatever he says
- Yes/no interr Do you know if he can swim?
―To‖ infinitive: She likes to dance then
- -Ing participle: We like singing the song in the group
- Nominal rel.cl: They gave whoever went there a present
- ―That‖ clause: The question is that he is still single
- ―Wh- ‖ interr.cl: The question is where we will go after the class
- Nominal rel.cl.: What he likes is not whatever I like
- Yes/no interr.: The question is If he can cope with the situation
- ―To‖ infinitive: My job was to remind him of his duty
- Bare infinitive: What we ought to do is repeat what he says
-Ing participle: Her dream was becoming a good translator
- Nominal rel cl.: You can paint it whichever colour you like
- ―To‖ infinitive: We wanted him to keep silent
- Bare infinitive: We heard him murmur something
-Ing participle: I saw him driving a new Dream
- ―That‖ clause: His hope, that he‘ll become a teacher of English, will soon come true
- ―Wh-‖ clause: The question how we deal with the situation has not been answered
- Nominal rel.cl.: We want to know her permanent address, that is where she is living most of her time
- Yes/no interr.: Our problem whether he‘ll be able to come over this difficulty is a great significant
- ―To‖ infinitive: His desire, to become famous throughout the country, comes true
- Ing participle: Her dream, becoming the Queen, was reliased at last
- ―That‖ clause: I‘m sure that he‘ll get married soon
- ―Wh-‖ clause: I‘m not certain who helped him over the difficulty
- Yes/no interrogative: I‘m not sure whether he‘ll succeed or not
- ―To‖ infinitive: He is easy to deal with
- Ing participle: She was busy making up all day
- ―Wh-‖ clause: It depends on what he will say at the meeting
- Nominal rel cl: I don‘t believe in whatever he says
- Yes/no interr: It depends on whether he can bring in this list
- Ing participle: They are thinking of cheating her
+ Adverbial clauses (functioning like Adverb Phrase):
-Adjunct, modifying the V-element (When I came, he left.)
- Disjunct, modifying the whole sentence (As far as I know, you need some help.)
- Conjunct, having connective function (What is more, the help has been available.)
Adverbial clauses of Time, Place, Condition, Concession, Reason, Circumstance, Manner, Comparison, Result…
Relative clauses serve as adjective phrases that modify the head noun in a noun phrase (NP), and they can also function independently Additionally, a relative clause may modify an entire sentence, known as a sentential relative clause For example, in the sentence "We are now systematically revising what we have learnt, which helps a lot in filling the gaps of knowledge," the relative clause enhances the overall meaning by providing additional context.
SENTENCES
Objectives: After finishing this module, learners will be able to review
- Major issues related to syntax and morphology
- Sentence/clause structures and the rules for arrangement of words into phrases, clauses, and sentence
- The grammatical categories and syntactic functions of language units, the basic clause/sentence structures, the clause/sentence elements and their realization
A sentence is a fundamental linguistic unit within syntax, distinct from phrases, and serves as the minimal syntactic structure for effective speech communication It is characterized by three key aspects: pragmatic, semantic, and structural As a means of communication, a sentence conveys meaning through predication, which links named phenomena to reality, with the finite verb at its core This predication is expressed through verbal categories such as tense and mood Structurally, sentences adhere to specific syntactic patterns that vary by language, with English exhibiting a finite number of these patterns, ranging from three basic structures to as many as fifty-one in detailed analyses The classification of sentences is primarily based on the communicative principle, emphasizing their purpose in conveying information.
In linguistic tradition, three primary sentence types are recognized based on their communicative purpose: declarative, imperative, and interrogative sentences Declarative sentences convey statements, whether affirmative or negative, and follow a standard subject-verb-object structure, prompting listeners to show attention or appraisal Imperative sentences express requests or commands, characterized by the verb's initial position, motivating listeners to take action Interrogative sentences pose questions with an inverted word order, facilitating a question-answer dialogue Additionally, exclamatory sentences are acknowledged in syntax, although they lack the core properties of the primary sentence types; instead, they serve as an expressive feature within the declarative, imperative, and interrogative structures, which can be presented in both non-exclamatory and exclamatory forms.
Actual Division of the Sentence
Actual division of the sentence, also known as functional sentence perspective, highlights the communicative properties of sentences This theory posits that a sentence consists of two main components: the theme and the rheme The theme serves as the starting point of the statement, while the rheme provides the new information that is conveyed through the sentence The terms "theme" and "rheme" originate from Greek, with "theme" referring to the foundational aspect of the statement.
The terms "theme" and "rheme" are crucial in understanding the actual division in linguistics, introduced by Czech linguists, particularly Jan Firbas in his 1959 thesis on word-order in Old and Modern English The relationship between a sentence's syntactic structure and its thematic and rhematic elements is a significant linguistic issue In languages with rich morphological structures and flexible word-order, the positioning of words effectively distinguishes between theme and rheme, with the last word typically representing the rheme However, in Modern English, variations in this structure require additional grammatical adjustments, as seen in the sentence "The woman sat on the bench," which lacks the same flexibility.
1 The grammatical construction ―…It is …which/that/who‖ is used for the representation of the rheme enclosed between the two components, e g It is our
2 The subject or any other sentence member can be made a rheme by means of intonation, cf.: Mary was playing the piano at the ‗moment ‗Mary was playing the piano at the moment Mary was ‗playing the piano at the moment
3 Another means of pointing out the rheme in the sentence is the intensifying particle (just, even, only, etc), followed by the word in question, e g It is only a suggestion
4 The subject put at the end of the sentence becomes rhematic, which is typical of the existential sentences, e g And there came some new information from the expert
5 Another means of indicating the rheme of a sentence may be the indefinite article, e g There is a problem There are also some means of showing up the theme in the English sentence: a This can be achieved by using the definite article, e g The idea was good b The loose parenthesis introduced by the phrase As to / As for produces the so- called double subject focusing on the theme, e g As for the others, they were not eager to interfere 3 Some scholars also believe that any notional constituent placed at the beginning of the sentence is made its theme, e g.: All that Dr Roberts found in the reference books; Next morning we are leaving for Boston Many problems concerning the actual division of the sentence have not been solved yet In particular, it is not certain that every sentence necessarily consists of the two parts: theme and rheme In some cases, there are supposed to be intermediate elements Jan Firbas in his analysis of English functional sentence perspective pointed out these intermediate elements and described their function as a transition zone R Quirk closely relates the organized communicative system of the sentence to the English intonation patterns He takes into consideration three aspects of this system: theme, focus, and emotive emphasis According to this approach each tone unit represents the unit of information and the place where the nucleus falls is the focus of information (the rheme) The neutral position of the focus is called end-focus It is stated that if the nucleus falls on the last stressed syllable of the clause (according to the principle of end-focus), the new information could be the entire clause, or the predication of the clause, or the last element of the clause There are three factors contributing to the presentation of the content of a clause in one particular order rather than another One is the tendency to place new information towards the end of the clause — the principle of end-focus Another is the tendency to reserve the final position for the more complex part of a clause — the principle of end-weight
A key factor influencing clause structures is the limitation of participant roles These restrictions dictate that an agentive role must be represented by the subject or the agent in a passive clause, rather than by an object or complement For instance, in the question "Who makes these chairs?" the agent is clearly indicated, while in the passive construction, "They are made by " the agent's role is still maintained.
Morris Actual division is different in different communicative types of sentences
A declarative sentence conveys a clear statement of fact, with its rheme serving as the focal point, such as in "Now you know the truth." In contrast, an imperative sentence does not present a factual proposition; instead, it implies a request or command based on the assumption that an action has not yet been completed, as seen in "Give me his address, please." The rheme here highlights the desired action Interrogative sentences, on the other hand, seek information unknown to the speaker, with their rheme being open to receiving a response Special questions utilize question-words to pinpoint the inquiry, while general questions present options for the listener to choose from, evident in alternative questions like "Will you invite him home or visit him at the hotel?" Additionally, yes-no questions implicitly offer a choice between the existence or non-existence of a fact, such as "Are you going to leave for good?"
A sentence is a distinct language unit that differs from other units such as clauses, words, word groups, and texts While both sentences and clauses serve as primary predication units, a clause represents dependent predication within a composite sentence, whereas a sentence is an independent unit that can stand alone as an utterance Although sentences and words are both fundamental language units, a word functions as the basic nominative and predicative unit with communicative force Furthermore, while both sentences and texts are communicative elements, a sentence is the smallest unit of speech that contributes to the construction of a text, which is a higher-level super-communicative unit comprised of multiple sentences.
A clause transforms into a sentence when it independently conveys a complete thought Typically, a sentence comprises multiple clauses, with one serving as the main clause and others functioning as subordinate clauses The construction of a sentence follows specific syntactical rules that govern its elements.
There are Five in type: Subject, Verb, Object, Adverbial, Complement, each with some specific features
- Realization : By NP, VP or Nominal clause (either finite or non-finite)
- Semantic and syntactic roles : An obligatory element, often as ‗doer‘, determining the V-form according to grammatical principle of S-V concord in finite cl
- Position : Initial (We were sitting here.), medial (Here we were sitting), and final
(At the door, stood a man)
The subject of a sentence can be categorized as either semantic, syntactic, or a combination of both For instance, in the sentence "My students are here," the subject is both semantic and syntactic Conversely, in "It is your task to master English grammar," "It" serves as a syntactic subject, while "to master English grammar" functions as the semantic subject Understanding these distinctions is crucial for mastering English grammar.
2 The Verb element (Finite Verb)
- Realization : By VP (either simple or complex)
- Semantic and syntactic roles: An obligatory element, often means action or state
Each type of the verb requires a certain type of complementation
Subject-Verb Agreement (S-V Concord) encompasses three key principles: First, grammatical concord adheres to established grammar rules, such as "We go" versus "He goes." Second, the notional principle focuses on meaning, illustrated by "My family is big" (family as a single unit) compared to "My family are very happy to see you" (family representing all members) Lastly, the principle of proximity dictates that the verb form aligns with the nearest subject element, as seen in the example "Neither students nor the teacher is there."
Realization: By NP, VP, or Nominal cl - Semantic and syntactic roles: An obligatory element, often as affected element (Od= ‗product‘, Oi = ‗receiver‘)
- Realization : By Adverb Phrase, Prepositional Phrase, or Adverbial clause
- Semantic and syntactic roles : Often optional, modifying the V-element (Adjunct) or the whole sentence (Disjunct & Conjunct)
4.1 Adverbials are either Adjuncts, Disjuncts or Conjuncts which share following characteristic feature:
- By an adverb: E.g.: He went there yesterday (adjuncts)
Frankly, I don't like his manner (disjunct)
Peter was playing with great skill (adjunct)
On the contrary, he's a man of few words (conjuncts)
Like his brother, he's an author (disjunct)
- By a noun phrase (less common): He went to London last week (adjunct)
They praised Tom many times (adjunct)
- By a non-finite verb clause:
To tell the truth, he failed the driving test (disjunct)
Generally speaking, he is honest (disjunct)
Peter kept trying although he was very tired
4.2 Distinctive features of Adjunct, disjunct and conjunct
Adjunct: Place, Time, Process, Focusing, Intensifier, Others (reason, purpose…) Disjunct: Style (speakers‘/writers‘ speaking or writing style: seriously/personally…)
Attitude (speakers‘/writers‘ comment on the content of what is said)
Conjunct: Most conjuncts are adverb phrases or prepositional phrases The most commonly used conjuncts are:
- Enumerative: first(ly), second(ly), for one thing, for a start, to start with, in the second place
- Reinforcing: also, furthermore, moreover, in addition, what is more
- Equate: equally, likewise, in the same way
- Transitional: incidentally, by the way
- Apposition(al): namely, in other words, for example
- Result(ive): consequently, hence, therefore, as a result
*Cs & Co – By NP, VP, Adj.P, or clause
*Cadj– By NP, VP, Pre.P, or clause
*Cprep – By NP or Nominal cl
- Semantic and syntactic roles : An obligatory element, completing the S, the O, the
Note: The complement is an obligatory element (The question is difficult.), and it is different from the modifier, which is an optional component within a phrase (It is a difficult question.)
- Statements/declarative sentences (We are having lovely weather.)
- Interrogative sentences (Are you having lovely weather?)
- Exclamatory sentence (What lovely weather we are having!)
2 Based on structure (on type and number of clauses)
- Simple sentence : One independent clause
A compound sentence consists of multiple independent clauses linked together by coordinating conjunctions such as "and," "but," or "or." These conjunctions illustrate various semantic relationships between the clauses, enhancing the complexity and meaning of the sentence.
A complex sentence consists of multiple clauses linked through subordination, utilizing various subordinators that convey distinct semantic relationships between the subordinate and superordinate clauses.
Ellipsis is a linguistic tool that helps eliminate repetition by omitting shared elements, allowing for a greater focus on new information While it can be applied to various sentence components, its use may also lead to ambiguity in communication.
Ellipsis of subject: Identical subjects of coordinated clauses are ellipted:
Peter ate a cheese sandwich and (Peter/ he) drank a glass of beer
Sometimes, ellipsis of both S and auxiliary occurs: Mary has washed the dishes,
(she has) fried them, and (she has) put them in the cupboard
Ellipsis of auxiliary only: when subjects are different
John should clean the shed and Peter (should) mow the lawn
John must have been playing football and Mary (must have been) doing her homework
Ellipsis of Predicate or Predication
Yesterday John was given a railway set, and Sue (was given) a doll
I work in a factory and my wife (works) on a farm
Nam will work today and (he) may (work) the day after tomorrow
Ellipsis of V + Cs (and possibly of S as well)
John was the winner in 1971 and Bob (was the winner) 10 years later
The milk turned sour not only today but yesterday too
Ellipsis of V + Od (possibly only lexical verb + Od)
Peter plays football for his school and Paul (plays football) for his club
Joan will cook the meals today and Barbara may (cook the meals)
Ellipsis of Od or Cs only (Mary), and Peter hates, Mary
George opened (the door), but Mary closed, the door
Ellipsis of Cs Bob seemed angry, and George certainly was (angry)
To my surprise, they didn't appoint him, and they (to my surprise didn't even interview him
Theoretically, I have no objections to his proposal an (theoretically) neither have any of my colleagues
2.2 Apposition: Appositive is the item that is in the same position and performs the same syntactic function as the other items in the clause
A neighbour, Fred Smith, is on the telephone (App of S)