GRAMMAR II

Parts of the sentence

2.3 Grammatical units
In order to state general rules about the construction of sentences we
refer to units such as those which are commonly referred to by the terms
CLAUSE, PHRASE, WORD, and MORPHEME. The relation between one unit and
another unit of which it is a part is CONSTITUENCY.
[kn stt junts
i]

2.4 Constituents [kn stt junt s]

CONSTITUENTS are the smaller parts into which a unit can be divided.
IMMEDIATE [ mid i t] CONSTITUENTS are those units which are
the parts into which another unit is immediately divisible: thus the verb phrase
[have turned] is an immediate constituent of the whole clause, and the
auxiliary [have] and the main verb [turned] are immediate constituents of the
verb phrase [have turned].
One unit may be a UNITARY CONSTITUENT of another unit; ie, it may
be the only 'part' into which another unit can be analysed. (UNITARY
CONSTITUENCY
may
thus
be
distinguished
from
MULTIPLIE
CONSTITUENCY, where a unit is divided into two or more immediate
constituents.)

2.7 The grammatical hierarchy [har k i]

The existence of unitary constituents also leads to a superficial difficulty
in talking of units of different 'size' or 'length'. There is a hierarchical [ha rk
k l] ranking of units in terms of their POTENTIAL size. In this sense, units of

grammar may be placed

EXTENSIBILITY as follows:

in

hierarchy

of

POTENTIAL

SIZE

or

HIGHEST UNIT: SENTENCES, which consist of one or more

CLAUSES, which consist of one or more
PHRASES, which consist of one or more
WORDS, which consist of one or more
LOWEST UNIT: MORPHEMES

2.8 Embedding [m bed ]

Embedding, as we have illustrated it so far, can be defined as the
occurrence of one unit as a constituent of another unit at the same rank in the
grammatical hierarchy.
Some students will be working late in their rooms.
Both units Iikewise can consist of more than one word (prepositional
phrases, indeed, must normally consist of at least two words). There is
therefore no reason to describe one unit as more extensible than the other;
they are both, as phrases, placed at the same position in the hierarchy. But
each unit can be a constituent of the other:

2.9 Subordination [s bd ne n]
Clauses which are embedded in other clauses (eg: since we returned
from Italy last week in [3] are SUBORDINATE clauses, and they are often
introduced by a subordinating CONJUNCTION (since in [3D. The subordinate
clause in [3] is parallel in its function to the adverb phrase just recently in Fig
2.3d, and is indeed termed an 'adverbial clause'. On the other hand, it is itself
divisible into phrases in a way which makes it parallel to the whole clause. The
relation between the two clauses of [3] is one of 'part to whole', as is illustrated
by the abbreviated tree diagram, opposite.
The weather has been remarkably warm.
[I]
We returned from Italy last week.
[2]

The weather has been remarkably warm since we returned from Italy
last week. [3]

2.10 Coordination [k d ne n]

In COORDINATION, one element is placed not inside another but

simply beside it. Two or more units of the same status on the grammatical
hierarchy may constitute a single unit of the same kind. The two elements are
typically joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but).The conjoined
elements may be clauses as in Jill went up the hill and Jack went to
bed, phrases as in Jill brushes her teeth after breakfast and before going to
bed, or words as in Jack and Jill went up the hill.
The constituent which contains the coordinated units as its immediate
constituents is here labelled a CONJOINT [kn dnt] item, to mark its
internal composition

2.11 Sentence
SIMPLE SENTENCE (ie the sentence consisting of a single independent
clause) is the most central part of grammar.
MULTIPLE SENTENCE (subsuming complex and compound sentences)
are all sentences which consist of more than one clause, either through
subordination or through coordination.

Clause structure
2.13 Central and peripheral [p rf
clause

rl] elements of the

To describe the constituency of clauses, we need to distinguish the

following elements of clause structure:
SUBJECT (S), VERB (V), OBJECT (O), COMPLEMENT (C), and ADVERBIAL
(A).
Someone [S] was laughing [V] loudly [A] in the next room [A].
[I]
My mother [S] usually [A] enjoys [V] parties [O] very much [A].
[2]
In 1945 [A] the country [S] became [V] totally independent [C].
[3]
I [S] have been [V] in the garden [A] all the time [A] since lunch [A].
[4]
Mary [S] gave [V] the visitor [O] a glass of milk [O].
[5]

Most people [S] consider [V] these books [O] rather expensive [C],
actually [A].
[6]
You [S] must put [V] all the toys [O] upstairs [A] immediately [A].
[7]
The distinction between 'centre' and 'periphery' is relative rather than
absolute. The verb element is the most CENTRAL element in the clause (i) its
position is normally medial rather than initial or final; (ii) it is normally
obligatory; (iii) it cannot normally be moved to a different position in the
clause; and (iv) it helps to determine what other elements must occur. For the
opposite reasons, adverbials are the most PERIPHERAL elements: (i) their
position is most frequently final; (ii) they are usually optional; (iii) they are
mostly mobile; and (iv) they do not determine what other elements occur. They
may be regarded, from a structural point of view, largely as 'optional extras',
which may be added at will, so that it is not possible to give an exact limit to
the number of adverbials a clause may contain. The other elements, subject,
object, and complement, are in various degrees more peripheral than the verb,
and less peripheral than the adverbial.

2.14 A 'fixed word-order language'

My mother usually enjoys parties very much. [S A V O A]
Usually my mother enjoys parties very much. [A S V O A]
[2a]
My mother enjoys parties very much, usually. [S V O A A]
[2b]

[2]

Adverbials can be moved to initial or final position. However, the other

elements cannot be similarly moved from their S V O sequence.
The fact that these orders, and many others of the same elements, do
not readily occur, helps to explain why English is commonly described as a
FIXED WORD-ORDER LANGUAGE. In English the positions of subject, verb,
and object are relatively fixed.
It is enough to state here that English does indeed have strict limitations
on the ordering of clause elements, but that the more peripheral an element is,
the more freedom of position it has. After V, S is the least mobile element,
followed by O and C.

2.15 Adverbials

The adverbial category has been described as the most peripheral, but it
is in fact a heterogeneous category. There are, some adverbials which cannot
readily be moved from their position in a given clause, and there are even
adverbials which are OBLIGATORY, such as the place adverbials I have been
in the garden all the time since lunch. and You must put all the toys upstairs
immediately.
Because they are essential to the 'completion' of the meaning of the
verb, such elements are classified by some grammarians as COMPLEMENTS.
Our position, however, is that adverbials represent a spectrum of types, the
most central of which, because of their obligatoriness and relative immobility,
resemble complements.

2.16 Clause types

Cutting across this threefold classification are three main verb classes:
INTRANSITIVE VERBS (eg: laugh in [1 a]), are followed by no obligatory
element, and occur in type SV.
TRANSITIVE VERBS (eg: enjoy in [2a], give in [3a], consider in [6a], put
in [7a]) are followed by an OBJECT, and occur in types SVO, SVOO, SVOC, and
SVOA respectively.
COPULAR VERBS (eg: become in [3a], be in [4aJ) are followed by a
SUBJECT COMPLEMENT or an ADVERBIAL, and occur in types SVC and SVA.
In a general sense, the term TRANSITIVE is often applied to all verbs
which require an object, including those of clause types SVOO, SVOC, and
SVOA. It is, however, convenient to make a further-classification of the verbs in
these patterns:

2.17 Objects and complements

We give priority to the distributional fact that whenever there are two
objects (in type SVOO), the former is normally the indirect object, and the latter
the direct object. But although it is more central with regard to position, in
other respects the INDIRECT OBJECT is more peripheral than the DIRECT
OBJECT: it is more likely to be optional, and may generally be paraphrased by
a prepositional phrase functioning as adverbial.
In SVC clauses the complement applies some attribute or definition to
the subject, whereas in SVOC clauses it applies an attribute or definition to the

object. This distinction is usually denoted by the

COMPLEMENT and OBJECT COMPLEMENT respectively.

terms

SUBJECT

The country became totally independent.

Most people considered Picasso a genius.

2.18 Obligatory adverbials

OBLIGATORY ADVERBIALS are largely restricted to what in a broad
sense we may term SPACE ADJUNCTS. Just as complements can be divided
into subject complements and object complements, so can obligatory space
adjuncts be divided into those occurring in the SVA pattern, in which a location
is attributed to the referent of the subject, and those occurring in the SVOA
pattern, in which a location is attributed to the referent of the object.
He [S] stayed [V] very quiet [Cs].
He [S] stayed [V] in bed [As].
They [S] kept [V] him [O] very quiet [Co].
They [S] kept [V] him [O] in bed [Ao].

[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]

The symbols As and Ao here indicate a subject-related adjunct and an

object-related adjunct respectively.
SPACE ADJUNCTS occurring in the SVA and SVOA patterns include not
only those indicating POSITION, such as in bed or at the office, but also
those indicating DIRECTION, such as in: She put the glass down. By
extension, they may also include adverbials which specify TEMPORAL
LOCATION, as in: The next meeting will be on the 5th February; and by a
more abstract and metaphorical interpretation of SPACE: The road is under
construction and We kept him off cigarettes. Also, there are MANNER
adjuncts as in: They treated her kindly and He is without a job.

2.19 Clause elements subclassified

Such subclassification is typical of both formal and functional distinctions

in grammar.

Clause patterns
10.1 Simple and multiple sentences
SIMPLE SENTENCE: consists of a single independent clause.
MULTIPLE SENTENCE: contains one or more clauses as its immediate
constituents. Multiple sentences are either COMPOUND or COMPLEX.
COMPOUND SENTENCE: where the immediate constituents are two or
more COORDINATE clauses.
COMPLEX SENTENCE: where one or more of its elements, such as
direct object or adverbial, are realized by a SUBORDINATE clause.
A complex sentence with one subordinate clause can be analysed twice
over, once for the sentence as a whole and once for the subordinate clause
included within the sentence:

10.2 Clause structures

The clause types are determined by the verb class to which the full verbs
within the verb constituent belong. Different verb classes require different
complementation (Od, Oi, Cs, Co, A) to complete the meaning of the verb, or (in
the case of SV, where the verb is intransitive) no complementation.

10.3 Multiple class membership of verbs

It must be borne in mind that a given verb can belong, in its various
senses, to a number of different classes, and hence enter into a number of
different clause types. The verb get is a particularly versatile one, being
excluded only from Type SV:
SVO
SVC
SVA
SVOO
SVOC
SVOA
He'll get a surprise.

He's getting angry.

He got through the window.
He got her a splendid
present.
He got his shoes and socks
wet.
He got himself into trouble.

Through the multiple class membership of verbs, ambiguities [m b

jut iz] can arise: I found her an entertaining partner, like She called him
her favourite waiter, could be interpreted either as belonging to the SVOC or
SVOO types.

2.47 Subject and predicate

The SUBJECT is often described as the constituent defining the topic of
the sentence - that which the sentence is about and which it presupposes as
its point of departure.
The PREDICATE is that which is asserted about the subject. It is the part
of a clause which tells us what the subject does or is.
SUBJECT
The train
Julie
Tigers
arrived late today.

PREDICATE
buys her vegetables in the
market.
are carnivorous.

2.48 Operator and predication

OPERATOR and PREDICATION are two subdivisions of the predicate.
The OPERATOR is normally the word which directly follows the subject. It is
provisionally defined as the first or only auxiliary.

2.49 DO, BE, and HAVE as operators

The definition pf operator as first auxiliary raises the question of what
happens if the corresponding positive declarative has no auxiliary, and
therefore no operator. In such cases, in the corresponding interrogative and
negative structures, the verb DO is introduced as a 'dummy' auxiliary to
perform the function of operator. This construction of DO-SUPPORT is further
exemplified in:
DO as operator occurs in the variant forms of do, does, and did: as a
finite verb, it realises distinctions of number, person, and tense. Elsewhere
however, DO may also, like BE and HAVE, function as a main verb: compare
the positive sentence He did it with the negative He did not do it, where
the two functions cooccur.
Unlike DO, BE functions as an operator even when it constitutes the
whole verb phrase, and is thus a main verb: Is everything ready? (Everything is ready) Was Titian a painter? ( - Titian was a painter) Are

these books for sale? [( - These books are for sale) Thus in the questions, is,
was, and are, which are here main verbs, are placed in front of the subject.
The main verb HAVE, on the other hand, tends to resemble the main
verb DO in not functioning as operator (Do you have a box of matches?),
although there is also a traditional usage (chiefly BrE) in which it does so: Have
you a box of matches? These usages are exceptions to our earlier definition of
the operator as 'first auxiliary'.