LESSON I: SYNTAX

In linguistics, syntax (/ˈsɪntæks/) is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern

the structure of sentences (sentence structure) in a given language, usually including word
order. The term syntax is also used to refer to the study of such principles and processes. The
goal of many syntacticians is to discover the syntactic rules common to all languages.

Etymology

The word syntax comes from Ancient Greek: σύνταξις "coordination", which consists

of σύν syn, "together", and τάξις táxis, "an ordering".

Sequencing of subject, verb, and object

One basic description of a language's syntax is the sequence in which

the subject (S), verb (V), and object (O) usually appear in sentences. Over 85% of languages
usually place the subject first, either in the sequence SVO or the sequence SOV. The other
possible sequences are VSO, VOS, OVS, and OSV, the last three of which are rare. In most
generative theories of syntax, these surface differences arise from a more complex clausal phrase
structure, and each order may be compatible with multiple derivations.

Early history

The Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pāṇini (c. 4th century BC in Ancient India), is often cited as an

example of a premodern work that approaches the sophistication of a modern syntactic theory (as
works on grammar were written long before modern syntax came about). In the West, the school
of thought that came to be known as "traditional grammar" began with the work of Dionysius
Thrax.

For centuries, a framework known as grammaire générale (first expounded in 1660

by Antoine Arnauld in a book of the same title) dominated work in syntax: as its basic premise

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the assumption that language is a direct reflection of thought processes and therefore there is a
single, most natural way to express a thought.

However, in the 19th century, with the development of historical-comparative linguistics,

linguists began to realize the sheer diversity of human language and to question fundamental
assumptions about the relationship between language and logic. It became apparent that there
was no such thing as the most natural way to express a thought, and therefore logic could no
longer be relied upon as a basis for studying the structure of language.

The Port-Royal grammar modeled the study of syntax upon that of logic. (Indeed, large
parts of the Port-Royal Logic were copied or adapted from the Grammaire générale) Syntactic
categories were identified with logical ones, and all sentences were analyzed in terms of "subject
– copula – predicate". Initially, this view was adopted even by the early comparative linguists
such as Franz Bopp.

The central role of syntax within theoretical linguistics became clear only in the 20th
century, which could reasonably be called the "century of syntactic theory" as far as linguistics is
concerned. (For a detailed and critical survey of the history of syntax in the last two centuries,
see the monumental work by Giorgio Graffi (2001).

Theories

There are a number of theoretical approaches to the discipline of syntax. One school of
thought, founded in the works of Derek Bickerton, sees syntax as a branch of biology, since it
conceives of syntax as the study of linguistic knowledge as embodied in the human mind. Other
linguists (e.g., Gerald Gazdar) take a more Platonistic view, since they regard syntax to be the
study of an abstract formal system. Yet others (e.g., Joseph Greenberg) consider syntax a
taxonomical device to reach broad generalizations across languages.

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Dependency grammar

Main article: Dependency grammar

Dependency grammar is an approach to sentence structure where syntactic units are arranged
according to the dependency relation, as opposed to the constituency relation of phrase structure
grammars. Dependencies are directed links between words. The (finite) verb is seen as the root
of all clause structure and all the other words in the clause are either directly or indirectly
dependent on this root. Some prominent dependency-based theories of syntax are:

 Recursive categorical syntax, or Algebraic syntax

 Functional generative description
 Meaning–text theory
 Operator grammar
 Word grammar

Lucien Tesnière (1893–1954) is widely seen as the father of modern dependency-based

theories of syntax and grammar. He argued vehemently against the binary division of the clause
into subject and predicate that is associated with the grammars of his day (S → NP VP) and
which remains at the core of most phrase structure grammars. In the place of this division, he
positioned the verb as the root of all clause structure.

Categorial grammar

Main article: Categorial grammar

Categorial grammar is an approach that attributes the syntactic structure not to rules of
grammar, but to the properties of the syntactic categories themselves. For example, rather than
asserting that sentences are constructed by a rule that combines a noun phrase (NP) and a verb
phrase (VP) (e.g., the phrase structure rule S → NP VP), in categorial grammar, such principles
are embedded in the category of the head word itself. So the syntactic category for
an intransitive verb is a complex formula representing the fact that the verb acts as a function

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word requiring an NP as an input and produces a sentence level structure as an output. This
complex category is notated as (NP\S) instead of V. NP\S is read as "a category that searches to
the left (indicated by \) for an NP (the element on the left) and outputs a sentence (the element on
the right)." The category of transitive verb is defined as an element that requires two NPs (its
subject and its direct object) to form a sentence. This is notated as (NP/(NP\S)) which means "a
category that searches to the right (indicated by /) for an NP (the object), and generates a
function (equivalent to the VP) which is (NP\S), which in turn represents a function that searches
to the left for an NP and produces a sentence."

Tree-adjoining grammar is a categorial grammar that adds in partial tree structures to the

categories.

Stochastic/probabilistic grammars/network theories

Theoretical approaches to syntax that are based upon probability theory are known

as stochastic grammars. One common implementation of such an approach makes use of a neural
network or connectionism.

Functional grammars

Main article: Functional theories of grammar

Functionalist models of grammar study the form–function interaction by performing a

structural and a functional analysis.

 Functional discourse grammar (Dik)

 Prague linguistic circle
 Role and reference grammar (RRG)
 Systemic functional grammar

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Generative grammar
Main article: Generative grammar

The hypothesis of generative grammar is that language is a biological structure. The

difference between structural–functional and generative models is that, in generative grammar,
the object is placed into the verb phrase. Generative grammar is meant to be used to describe all
human language and to predict whether any given utterance in a hypothetical language
would sound correct to a speaker of that language (versus constructions which no human
language would use). This approach to language was pioneered by Noam Chomsky. Most
generative theories (although not all of them) assume that syntax is based upon the constituent
structure of sentences. Generative grammars are among the theories that focus primarily on the
form of a sentence, rather than its communicative function.

Among the many generative theories of linguistics, the Chomskyan theories are:

 Transformational grammar (TG) (Original theory of generative syntax laid out by

Chomsky in Syntactic Structures in 1957)
 Government and binding theory (GB) (revised theory in the tradition of TG developed
mainly by Chomsky in the 1970s and 1980s)
 Minimalist program (MP) (a reworking of the theory out of the GB framework published
by Chomsky in 1995)

Other theories that find their origin in the generative paradigm are:

 Arc pair grammar

 Generalized phrase structure grammar (GPSG; now largely out of date)
 Generative semantics (superseded by semantic syntax)
 Head-driven phrase structure grammar (HPSG)
 Lexical functional grammar (LFG)
 Nanosyntax
 Relational grammar (RG) (now largely out of date)

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 Harmonic grammar (HG) (similar to the optimality theory of syntax)

Cognitive and usage-based grammars

Main article: Cognitive Linguistics

The Cognitive Linguistics framework stems from generative grammar, but adheres

to evolutionary rather than Chomskyan linguistics. Cognitive models often recognize the
generative assumption that the object belongs to the verb phrase. Cognitive frameworks include:

 Cognitive grammar
 Construction grammar (CxG)
 Emergent grammar

TASK 1: Study the different theories above. Make a brief written report in
each theory.

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LESSON II: PARTS OF SPEECH
Words in a language behave differently from each other. But not each word is entirely
different from all other words in that language.

Words can be categorized into parts of speech (lexical categories, word classes) based

on their morphological, syntactic and semantic properties.

Note that there is a certain amount of arbitrariness in any such classification. For
example,

should may be classified as a pronoun or as a determiner, should numerals/participles/auxiliary

verbs be a separate category. If he is a pronoun, should do be a pro-verb?

 Open versus closed classes:

 Open class – new and new items are added to the class over the time – nouns, verbs,

adjectives, and adverbs.

 Closed class – contains small number of words, new items are added very rarely –

determiners, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions

Open Classes
1. Nouns (N)

• morphology – most nouns form plural

cat-s, house-s, kiss-es, men, sheep

• syntax – usually has a determiner (except proper names like John) and can be modified

by an adjective:

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 Determiner (Adjective)

a cat, many kisses, few men, several sheep

a small cat, many exciting kisses, few clever men, several bored sheep

• semantics – name of a person, thing or place.

But: problem with abstract nouns (beauty, anger, aspect) and actions (a thump).

2. Verbs (V)

• morphology – form third person, past tense, past participle, present participle:

walk walks walked walked walking

go goes went gone going

buy buys bought bought buying

run runs ran run running

• syntax:

1. can combine with an auxiliary: Aux__

will go, have seen, should run, must leave, is swimming

2. can be modified by an adverb: Adverb__ or__ Adverb

usually sleep, read carefully

• semantics – usually describes an action, a process or a state of being

But: problem with some verbs (know, remember)

But: hard to distinguish from nouns describing actions (a thump)

3. Adjectives (A, Adj)

• morphology:

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 1. form comparative and superlative forms:

cool – cooler – coolest, successful – more successful – most successful, good – better– best

2. many can be changed into adverbs by the -ly suffix:

sad – sadly, funny – funnily, nice – nicely, beautiful – beautifully

• syntax:
1. Can modify a noun: Determiner N
a tall man, a cool day, a wonderful trip
2. Can be modified by an adverb: Adverb

very clever, extremely clever, unusually hot

• semantics – usually describes a quality or attribute

4. Adverbs (Adv)
quickly, soon, morally, today, here, very, before

• morphology – often formed from adjectives by the -ly suffix.

But: good – well, fast – fast, friendly – friendly, eastward
• syntax – can modify verbs (hence ad-verbs), adjectives & often other adverbs.
1. V or V
stop abruptly, usually eat
2. Adj
amazingly cheap, very bad (very cannot modify a verb), quite nice
3. Adv
very quickly, quite soon

Summary of open classes

TYPICAL TYPICAL TYPICAL

MORPHOLOGY SYNTAX SEMANTICS
NOUN Plural D (Adj) thing, thing, person, place

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 house – houses the big house
VERB tenses, . . . combines with an action
walk – walked Aux would walk
ADJECTIVE comparative, D__ N quality, property
superlative the big house
big – bigger – biggest
ADVERB often has -ly suffix modifies V, Adj, Adv manner, degree, . . .
degree, . . . a really big house
really, but: well

Closed Classes

Determiners (D, Det)

articles (a, the), quantifiers (many, any, all, several), possessives (my, your, his,
her)

Syntax – come before nouns: (Adj) N

Auxiliary verbs (Aux)

will, may, must, shall, would, can, have

Syntax:

1. Is followed by a verb: V

It will rain. You must be quiet.

2. Is negated directly: not

He cannot swim. She would not come.

*He doesn’t can swim. *She doesn’t would come.

VERBS AUXILIARY VERBS

NEGATION needs aux do directly
I don’t want it. *I don’t will come.
*I want not it. I will not come.
QUESTION needs aux do inversion
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 Do you know it? *Do you will come?
Know you it? Will you come?
AGREEMENT yes no
He knows it. *He wills come
*He know it. He will come

Be, have and do are sometimes normal verbs and sometimes auxiliary verbs. (I don’t have it. vs.
I have not seen it.)

5. Pronouns (Pron)
Words that stand for a noun or a whole noun phrase.
I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them

Note: It makes sense to classify possessives (traditionally called possessive pronouns) as

determiners. Syntactically, pronouns and possessives behave differently – pronouns act as nouns,
but possessives modify nouns:

pronoun: I run. – *My run.

possessive: John likes my house. – *John likes I house.
pronoun: Based on Latin pro (for) + noun

6. Prepositions (P)
in, on, about, with, at, to, of, under

Syntax: stand before noun phrases (see later, simply NP = Det (Adj) N)
Semantics: usually express spacial, temporary, etc. relations.
on the table, with nice colors, about mammals

7. Conjunctions (Conj)

and, or, but, . . .

Syntax: connect two words or phrases on the same level

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 1. N__N (women and men)

2. V __V (run or walk)

3. Adj__Adj (warm but rainy)

4. S__S (I will talk and he will write.)

Words belonging to more than one lexical category

Some words belong to several categories:

• They have similar meaning:

– She talks very much. vs. She is giving three talks.

– It’s cold. vs. I got a cold.

• They have completely different meanings:

– I can’t bear the noise. vs. There is a bear in the wood.

– tree barks vs. the dog barks

Virtually all English nouns can be turned into verbs.

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 TASK 1: Distinguish the difference between Open Classes to Closed
Classes.

TASK 2: Define the following:

 Morphology
 Lexical
 Semantics

TASK 3: Give examples of five (5) irregular verbs.

e.g. go went gone

TASK 4:
Differentiate linking verbs to auxiliary verbs. List down the examples.

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LESSON III: PHRASES AND PHRASE STRUCTURE
RULES
A phrase is a group of words that does not contain both a subject and a verb. It can be a
group of words that contain only a subject, or a group of words that consist only of a verb.

Phrases are created from other phrases or words. Sentence is the biggest phrase. We can
depict the fact that a sentence is built from smaller parts by a diagram:

A tree diagram represents several aspects of “how words are put together” in a sentence:

 the order of the words in a sentence.

 the word class (Part of Speech) of each word.
 the hierarchical structure of a sentence – the grouping of words into phrases, and the
grouping of phrases into larger phrases.
 the centers of phrases that other words group around (e.g. N in NP, V in S)

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 Characteristics of Phrase Structure Rules

A simple grammar:

a. S → NP V (NP) (PP)

b. NP → (Det) (A) N (PP)

c. PP → P NP

d. N → {dog, boy, . . . }, P → {on, in, . . . }, . . .

This grammar describes a simple language (similar to English). It has several

characteristics, which it shares with grammars of real languages:

• Generativity:

It does not list the sentences of the language; it describes the way how to build them. This
is important, since languages contain infinite number of sentences.

• Ambiguity:

Some sentences can be built in more than one way (starting with the S rule and ending
with the words in the sentence). These sentences have more than one syntactic structure – they
are syntactically ambiguous (for example the telescope sentence). This also shows that sentences
are more than just simple strings of words.

• Infinite Recursion:

The grammar is recursive and thus allows to produce an infinite number of sentences

using a finite (very small) number of rules.

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 The Noun Phrase

A noun phrase consists of a noun and its modifiers.

a bright, sunny morning - morning is the noun

a, bright, sunny are the modifiers

the clean and colorful apron - apron is the noun

the, clean and colorful are the modifiers

A noun phrase is used as a subject, direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, or
objective complement.

The polite girl greeted me. (subject)

She wants a big, white teddy bear. (direct object)

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 They gave the poor evacuees food and clothing. (indirect object)

Marita is a 25-year-old preschool teacher. (predicate nominative)

I find Susan a very dependable and sincere friend. (objective complement)

Phrase Structure Rules capture this:

(1) a. NP → Det N the cat
b. NP → Det A N those noisy cats
c. NP → N cats
d. NP → A N noisy cats

We can mark optional subphrases with parentheses and save even more words:

(2) NP → (Det) (A) N cats, noisy cats, the cat, those noisy cats

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 TASK 1. Identifying noun phrases and their functions

Underline the noun phrases in these sentences. Identify the use of each noun phrase in the
sentence. On the blanks, write S for subject, DO for direct object, IO for indirect object, PN for
predicate nominative, or OC for objective complement.

_______________ 1. This lovely bouquet is a gift from Dad.

_______________ 2. A sad-looking boy was looking for you.

_______________ 3. I’ll wear my lovely red evening gown tonight.

_______________ 4. Burj Dubai is the world’s new tallest building.

_______________5. A few guests stayed until midnight.

_______________ 6. The strong winds terrify me.

_______________ 7. I gave the hungry boys soup and biscuits.

_______________ 8. Mila has bought a large, four-bedroom house.

_______________ 9. He gave the old building a makeover.

_______________ 10. Her smiling face charms everyone.

_______________ 11. Tommy and Tina showed off their new black van.

_______________ 12. Those unruly children are driving me crazy.

_______________ 13. Marlon gave me some useful tips on hairstyling.

_______________ 14. I consider my mother my best friend.

_______________ 15. I can see a beautiful rainbow from here.

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 TASK 2: Construct three (3) Noun phrases with a diagram.

The Verb Phrase

A verb phrase consists of the main verb and its auxiliary or helping verb.

should read did recall is talking

will eat might go may write

TASK 3. Identifying verb phrases

Underline the verb phrase in each sentence.

1. The students must have gone ahead of us.

2. We might want to open a new store.

3. After you have read the letter, please call her.

4. The giraffe is trying to reach the top leaves.

5. I have been baking cookies all afternoon.

6. You have cooked such fluffy pancakes.

7. The boy is crying loudly.

8. Will you go to the concert?

9. She will soon hire the new janitor.

10. The hunter will shoot the bird.

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 11. Her grandmother is embroidering the tiny handkerchief.

12. I must have my hair cut soon.

13. The telephone might be out of order.

14. A few minutes more and I will not wait any longer.

15. The eggs might break.

Prepositional Phrase

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, its object and modifiers of the object.

Examples of prepositions are: before, after, for, below, above, top, until, besides, inside, outside,
near, toward, as, by, from, under, and across.

after the class for the boys under the table

before I go near the window across Asia

Uses of prepositional phrases:

As adverb : With a wave of her hand, the contestant captivated the audience.

As adjective : Every Sunday, we hear mass in the chapel of the mall.

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 TASK 4. Identifying prepositional phrases

Ring the prepositional phrase in each sentence.

1. Inside the jar are my favorite cookies.

2. Mrs. Rodriguez went inside the church.

3. The dog with the black spots is Blackie.

4. Behind his smile I can sense anger.

5. Julia lives across the street from us.

6. The can of cookies was donated by the chairman.

7. The ballet dancer glided gracefully across the floor.

8. The friends strolled on the beach.

9. The sun shone gently on the sleeping baby.

10. The boy in tattered clothes looks like my nephew.

11. Do not judge a book by its cover.

12. Reading is something I do before bedtime.

13. The coin rolled under the table.

14. The robber begged for forgiveness.

15. She accepted the flowers with a happy smile.

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 TASK 5: Use the following prepositional phrases in meaningful sentences.

1. during the meeting 5. since last month 9. at the gate

2. at the same time 6. beyond my reach 10. of pain

3. after his birthday 7. until 9 in the evening

4. at the party 8. around the perimeter

Verbal Phrases

A verbal phrase is a form of a verb that does not function like a verb. The phrase may be
an infinitive, participial or gerund phrase.

 Infinitive Phrases

An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive, plus an object. An infinitive is a form of a

verb that is preceded by to.

Example of infinitives: to eat to swim to believe

to cry to study to create

Uses of infinitives:

1. As noun : To become a cheerleader is Tessa’s ambition. (subject)

As noun : Diana wants to be an honor student. (direct object)

As noun : Her secret wish is to be a real princess. (predicate nominative)

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 2. As adjective : Fr. Renan has something to tell you.

3. As adverb : Piolo donated toys to make the orphans happy.

TASK 6. Identifying infinitive phrases

Ring the infinitive phrase in each sentence.

1. Father Bernard wants to go on a mission to Mindanao.

2. A basketball game is exciting to watch.

3. I need to go home immediately.

4. To watch a movie tonight is my way of relaxing.

5. Let’s try to open the locked door without breaking it.

6. The music he composed is enough to inspire the whole congregation.

7. Mother copied a recipe to guide her in her cooking.

8. To sail around the world is her lifetime dream.

9. Henry wants to cook spaghetti.

10. Mayvel is trying to wash the stain off her skirt.

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 TASK 7. Identifying infinitive phrases

Identify the function of the underlined infinitive phrase in each sentence. Write the function

beside the phrase.

Example: The new secretary tried to brew coffee. - Direct object

1. The clock started to chime at exactly twelve o’clock midnight.

2. She is the candidate to watch out for.

3. Mariano wants to be vice president.

4. Yeyet hopes to win the contest.

5. To see her mother smile makes her happy.

6. Mrs. Rezaba teaches her children to save part of their allowances.

7. To ride a horse is what she has been avoiding all along.

8. Mrs. Contreras is asking her friends to pray for her daughter’s recovery.

9. Her Australian pen pal came to visit her.

10. Mai Mai wants to bake a cake today.

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  Participial Phrases

Participial phrases begin with a participle, which is an adjective formed from a verb.
They come in two tenses: present and past.

Present participle : -ing form of the verb

Singing, dancing, crying, writing

Past participle : verb + ed

shared, gathered, ironed, baked (regular verbs)

` torn, written, stolen, lost, grown (irregular verbs)

Examples:

The driver, blinded by the flash of lightning, drove into a tree.

The girl singing in the rain is the star of the new musical.

The talking mynah is Sarah’s pet.

TASK 8. Identifying participial phrases

Underline the participial phrase in the sentence. Circle the noun it modifies.

1. The girl wearing the very short skirt is a cheerleader.

2. Feeling tired, the hikers stopped to rest awhile.

3. The clay figures, discovered in an archeological site in Egypt, belong to the government.

4. The residents of General Santos City prepared a banner congratulating Manny Pacquiao

on his latest victory.

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5. Decorated with blue and white icing, the cake looked delicious.

6. The crying old lady lost her child in the plane crash.

7. Promising to pay as soon as possible, the boarder appeased the landlady.

8. Looking like she just got up from bed, the employee was scolded by her boss.

9. Clapping their hands wildly, the audience inspired the singer top sing another song.

10. The man swimming like a fish is a lifeguard.

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LESSON IV: CLAUSES

Dependent and Independent Clauses

An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and
expresses a complete thought.

Milagros jumped into the swimming pool.

(subject) (verb)

A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not
express a complete thought. Dependent clauses are introduced by words like: although, even
though, if, as if, when, whether, and unless.

I stayed at the airport until someone came to pick me up.

TASK 1. Identifying dependent and independent clauses

Write on the blank whether the clause is dependent or independent.

_______________ 1. the birds are chirping happily

_______________ 2. while she watches television

_______________ 3. the scientist completed the experiment

_______________ 4. before you leave the school

_______________ 5. the telephone is ringing

_______________ 6. when the postman arrived

_______________ 7. the teacher is very busy

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_______________ 8. until Nelda arrives

_______________ 9. that my sister keeps in her bag

_______________ 10. the student passed the examination

Noun Clauses

A noun clause is a dependent clause that acts as a noun.

Noun clauses function in the same way nouns do.

1. as subject
What he told her made her lose hope.
2. as direct object
I do not like what he did.
3. as indirect object
Our teacher gave whoever was present additional points.
4. as predicate nominative
The school’s problem was whether to postpone the field trip or not.
5. as object of the preposition
I believe in what the youth can do.
6. as appositive
The bank approved her request, that she be granted a loan to start a business.

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 TASK 2. Identifying noun clauses used as subjects

Underline the noun clause used as subject of the sentence.

1. Whatever they decide is fine with me.

2. What Marimar saw was probably a stray cat.

3. That she failed the exam was her problem.

4. How a student should behave in school can be found in the handbook.

5. Whoever gave her the expensive gift is a mystery.

TASK 3. Identifying noun clauses used as direct or indirect objects

Underline the noun clause and write DO on the blank if it is a direct object and IO if it is an

indirect object.

_______________ 1. You can donate whatever amount you feel is appropriate.

_______________ 2. The beautiful actress left whoever she met awestruck.

_______________ 3. Lorelei chose whoever she felt worthy as a boyfriend.

_______________ 4. We soldiers should follow whatever the commander says.

_______________ 5. I will nominate whomever I think is capable.

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 TASK 4. Identifying noun clauses used as predicate nominative

Underline noun clauses used as predicate nominatives.

1. Lorna’s problem is whom to choose between her two suitors.

2. The main argument of the class is which really came first – the chicken or the egg.

3. The topic of the lecture is how to convert solid waste into biofuel.

4. Vivian’s choice of menu for the reception is whichever she finds healthy yet inexpensive.

5. The point of the story is whether we should be good or bad.

TASK 5. Identifying noun clauses used as appositives

Underline the noun clauses used as appositives.

1. Our organization, which helps disabled people earn a living, was given an award by the

government.

2. The local grocery store, where the robbery occurred, has reopened.

3. The workers rallied for their right: that they be given fair compensation.

4. Mr. Estrada, who later became president of the country, was a good actor.

5. Lea, whose husband works in a marketing firm, decided to become a full-time mom.

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 Adjective Clauses

Adjective clauses are dependent clauses that function as adjectives. Adjective clauses are
introduced by pronouns such as who, whom, which, that, whose, when, and where.

The books that I borrowed are mystery novels.

That woman, who is wearing a red dress, is my aunt.

TASK 6. Identifying adjective clauses

Underline the adjective clause in each sentence and circle the word it modifies.

1. Mariel is holding the medal that she won.

2. Anyone who sees her must be captivated by her beauty.

3. The teacher whom I respect so much resigned last week.

4. Jojo hopes his mother will buy the red shirt that he likes so much.

5. The store where his products are sold got robbed.

6. February is the time when everyone seems to be in love.

7. The book that Aiza gave me is my favorite.

8. Katrina’s necklace, which she uses everyday, is made of white silver.

9. The family went to Boracay, where a lot of nice beaches are found.

10. The car that James wants so much costs a million pesos.

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 Adverb Clauses

Adverb clauses are dependent clauses used as an Adverbs. Adverb clauses are always
introduced by subordinating conjunctions like: after, as if, although, in order that, since, that,
unless, until, whenever, while, where, so that.

Adverb clauses are used to modify:

1. verbs
Unless you apply sunscreen lotion, you will burn.
2. adjectives
Mimi was not hungry although she had not eaten all day.
3. adverbs
Jackie wrote down the answers as fast as her hand could write.
4. participles
Playing as best she as could, she won the contest.
5. gerunds
She enjoys jogging continuously until her feet hurt.
6. infinitives
She decided to dance, even though she had two left feet.

TASK 7. Finding adverb clauses and the words they modify

Underline the adverb clause in each of the sentences below. Then ring the word that it modifies.

1. Before the girl could say “yes,” the disappointed suitor walked away.

2. The cat got the fish even though there was a dog running after it.

3. Her tears fall whenever she remembers her problems.

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4. Avoid blaming others when you are at fault.

5. The girls decided to go swimming today since there will be no classes tomorrow.

6. The farmer decided to sow seeds until it was time to retire.

7. Mrs. Santos tried to open her eyes even though she was very sleepy.

8. Cristine cried hard after her mother scolded her.

9. The dog barked loudly as it heard a knock on the door.

10. Singing whenever they could, the children soon suffered from sore throat.

11. Before the class was dismissed, the teacher scolded the students.

12. Anna hopes to see the boy as soon as he arrives.

13. Leading his followers as best as he could, the leader felt very humble.

14. Waiting until it was evening, the robber hid behind the door.

15. The children panicked when they heard the fire alarm.

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LESSON V: AMBIGUITY
 syntactical – more than one possible structure for the same string of words.

I saw a man with a telescope.

(Who has the telescope, me or the man?)

We need more intelligent leaders.

(need more or more intelligent?)
 morphological – a form has more than one morphological interpretation
Napˇet´ı vyvolalo zdraˇzen´ı.
 lexical (homonymity) – a word has more than one meaning.
Did you see the bat?
Where is the bank?

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LESSON VI: ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
When more than one adjective comes before a noun, the adjectives are normally in a
particular order. Adjectives which describe opinions or attitudes (e.g. amazing) usually come
first, before more neutral, factual ones (e.g. red):

She was wearing an amazing red coat.

Not: … red amazing coat

If we don’t want to emphasize any one of the adjectives, the most usual sequence of
adjectives is:

Determiner: The determiner tells us if the noun is singular or plural, definite or

indefinite

 a, an, the, my, your, four, those, some etc.

And then we have the adjectives that refer to…

Opinion: Explains what we think about something. This is usually our opinion, attitude
or observations. These adjectives almost always come before all other adjectives.

 beautiful, boring, stupid, delicious, useful, lovely, comfortable

Size: Tells us how big or small something is.

 big, small, tall, huge, tiny

Shape / Weight / Length: Tells about the shape of something or how long or short it
is. It can also refer to the weight of someone or something.

 round, square, circular, skinny, fat, heavy, straight, long, short,

Condition: Tells us the general condition or state of something

 broken, cold, hot, wet, hungry, rich, easy, difficult, dirty

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 Age: Tells us how old someone or something is.

 old, young, new, ancient, antique

Color: The color or approximate color of something.

 green, white, blue, reddish, purple

Pattern: The pattern or design of something.

 striped, spotted, checked, flowery

Origin: Tells us where something is from.

 American, British, Italian, eastern, Australian, Chilean

Material: What is the thing made of or constructed of?

 gold, wooden, silk, paper, synthetic, cotton, woolen

Purpose/Qualifier/Use: What is it for? These adjectives often end in –ing.

 sleeping (bag), gardening (gloves), shopping (bag), wedding (dress)

Examples of the order of adjectives before a noun

Something to have in mind is that it does not sound natural using three or more adjectives in
the same sentence and it is very rare to hear four adjectives together before a noun.

 My sister adopted a beautiful big white bulldog.

 An interesting old Indian rug.
 A striped silk shirt
 Some comfortable black sleeping bags
 Four small round wooden tables
 Those funny little old men
 I love that really big old green antique car that always parked at the end of the street.
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 Adjectives joined by and

When more than one adjective occurs after a verb such as be (a linking verb), the second
last adjective is normally connected to the last adjective by and:

EXAMPLE: Home was always a warm, welcoming place. Now it is sad, dark and cold.

And is less common when more than one adjective comes before the noun (e.g. a warm,
welcoming place). However, we can use and when there are two or more adjectives of the same
type, or when the adjectives refer to different parts of the same thing:

EXAMPLE: It was a  blue and green cotton shirt.

The house is green and red.

The library has old and new books.

TASK 1: Identify the category of the adjectives in the sentence given.

1. I love that beautiful old big green antique car that always parked at the end of the street.

2. My sister has a big beautiful tan and white bulldog.

3. A wonderful old Italian clock.

4. A big square blue box.

5. A disgusting pink plastic ornament.

6. Some slim new French trousers.

7. An amazing new American movie.

8. I bought a pair of black leather shoes.

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 TASK 2: For each of the following sentences, choose the correct order of
adjectives to fill in the blank.

1. I bought a pair of _________________ boots.

a. new, nice, red rain

b. nice new red rain

c. red nice new rain

2. My dad was thrilled with his gift of _________________ bowties for his clown

act.

a. three squirting new nice big polka-dotted

b. three polka-dotted nice new squirting

c. three nice big new polka-dotted squirting

3. Please put the marbles into that ______________________ box.

a. round little old red

b. little old round red

c. little old red round

4. My grandmother lives in the ________________________ house on the corner

a. little blue, green and white

b. little blue and green and white

c. little, blue, green, and white

5. The store carries an assortment of _____________________ objects.

a. interesting new, old and antique

b. new, old, interesting and antique

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 c. interesting, old and new and antique

TASK 3: Complete the sentences using the correct adjective order.

1. My brother and I watched a...

2. For my birthday, I got a...

3. My neighbor has a...

4. Last weekend, I went to a...

5. Last week, I saw a...

TASK 4: Construct five (5) sentences using the correct sequence of the
adjectives.

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LESSON VII: AGREEMENT BETWEEN PRONOUNS
AND ANTECEDENTS
An antecedent is the noun or pronoun to which a pronoun refers. It is very important for
the sake of effective communication that the antecedent of each pronoun be made clear and
unmistakable.

Mrs. Joana P. Apolinario has finished her Master’s Degree course in CIC Cabanatuan City.
(Mrs. Joana P. Apolinario is the antecedent of her.)

Andrew sends his wife a bouquet of roses on their anniversary.

(Andrew is the antecedent of his.)

The children obey their parents’ wishes.

(Children is the antecedent of their.)

The dog is biting its tail.

(Dog is the antecedent of its.)

One must always take good care of his body.

(One is the antecedent of his.)

Everybody brought his equipment.

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 (Everybody is the antecedent of his.)

The antecedent of a pronoun should always be made clear to avoid confusion. There are
rules that govern the agreement between the pronouns and their antecedents. Among these are:

1. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in person, in gender, and in number.

Gabrielle takes good care of her favorite jewelries.

Lian plays her favorite online games everyday.

2. Who refers to persons, which refers to things, and that refers to persons and things.
What is never used to refer to an expressed antecedent.

Wrong : The book what you sent me is interesting.

Correct : The book that you sent me is interesting.
The boy who won the refrigerator is my cousin.
Henry lost the pocketbook that Sheila lent him.

3. A noun or an indefinite pronoun used as an antecedent takes a pronoun in the third

person.

A man must do his best in order to achieve his goal.

Someone left his keys on the table.

4. A pronoun agrees with the nearer of two antecedents.

He mentioned everyone and everything that contributed to his success.

Neither Francis nor Ella likes her assignment.

5. A collective noun used as an antecedent agrees with a singular pronoun. However, if

the individual members of the group are considered, it agrees with a plural pronoun.

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 The class wants its project to be launched as soon as possible.
The class disagree on their choice of projects to launch.

TASK 1. Underline the correct pronoun to agree with its antecedent.

1. If someone catches your eyes, just make (him, her, it) feel you are friendly.

2. Its normal for young people to get cold feet before (hers, his, their) wedding.

3. Because the car of my brother would not start, (he, she, it) had to be towed.

4. If the beggars ask for help, (he, she, they) should be given.

5. Someone in the class left (his, her, their) notes behind.

6. Everybody on the bus is supposed to stay in (his, her, their) seat.

7. Any female contestant can also cast (his, her, their) vote for the contest.

8. Some of the women wrote to (his, her, their) local newspaper about the garbage problem.

9. Each of the teams had (his, her, their, its) mascot at the game.

10. Someone has parked (his, her, their, its) car in my space.

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 TASK 2. Correct the errors in the agreement between the pronoun and its
antecedent in each of the following sentences.

1. If a student cheats, they are likely to be caught.

2. A parent should be kind to their children.

3. One should not cheat, for they are sure to harm himself.

4. A teacher should not be a baby sitter, instead, they should educate their students.

5. An abridged dictionary is very useful, but they are too heavy to carry around.

6. A parent is eager to reform children, that is, everybody’s but theirs.

7. I want each of you to put on their hat.

8. There are politicians who don’t know what he is going to do next.

9. Many people are not aware of his movements.

10. Mrs. Apolinario loves to play his acoustic guitar whenever he feels lonely.

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LESSON VIII: AGREEMENT OF SUBJECT AND
PREDICATE
The general rule on the agreement between the subject and the predicate states that the
verb must agree with the subject in person and in number. A singular subject takes a plural verb
while a plural subject takes a plural verb. In the present tense, agreement is more clearly
reflected. A singular subject in the third person takes the -s form of the verb. The subjects “I”,
“you”, and any plural subject take the base form. Look at the following example.

PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL

First I sing We sing

Second You sing You sing

He sings They sing

Third She sings
It sings The girls sing
The girl sings

Summary of Rules

1. The pronoun you always take a plural verb.

You look gorgeous today.

You are called to the dean’s office.

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2. The indefinite pronouns someone, somebody, something, anyone, anything, anybody,
everyone, everybody, everything, one, and many a require a singular verb.

Everything is ready for tomorrow’s activities.

Many a man has succumbed to the lure of money and power.

2.a The indefinite pronouns many, several, a few, some, and both take a plural verb.

Many are called, but few are chosen.

Both of them need to take time off.

3. Two or more subjects joined by and require a plural verb.

Ellen and Julie are very good friends.

Manila and San Francisco are sister cities.

3.a When two subjects refer to the same idea or are closely associated, a singular verb
is used.

My husband and best friend takes good care of me.

Kare-kare and bagoong is a delicious dish.

4. Two or more singular subjects joined by or, either…or, or neither…nor, require a

singular verb, while two or more plural subjects require a plural verb.

Neither the mother nor the father allows the children to leave at a late hour.
Either the students or the teachers are assigned to decorate the rooms.

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 4.a When two subjects which are different in person or in number are joined by or,
either…or, or neither…nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it.

Either Martha or the twins are responsible for the distribution of the invitations.

Neither the apples nor the watermelon is fit to be eaten.

Either you or I am right.

5. A collective noun usually takes a singular verb except when the individual members of
the group are considered.

The Salonga Family goes home to Iloilo every summer.

Our team is preparing hard for the championship game.

5.a When the individual members of a collective noun are considered separately,
the predicate is plural.

The Sandoval Family stay in different houses.

The class disagree on the itinerary.

6. The expression the number requires a singular verb while a number requires a plural
verb.

The number of transferees rises every semester.

A number of students are waiting for the Finance Office to open.

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7. Intervening words do not affect the agreement between the subject and the predicate.

The widow, together with her young children, goes to church every Sunday.
I, Madonna, am a law-abiding citizen of this country.

8. Adjectives used as nominals require plural verbs.

The meek are blessed for they shall inherit the earth.
The brave make good leaders.

9. When the subject is a fraction, the verb agrees with the object of the of phrase.

One-fourth of the chicos are ripe.

Two-thirds of the apple pie has been eaten by Gerard and Henry.

10. Some, all, and none require a plural verb when they mean a number, and a singular
verb when they refer to an amount.

Some of the work was left undone.

Some of his stories are incredible.

All is finished.
All were present to voice out their grievances.

None of the instructions was followed.

None were ready to submit their reports.

11. The expletive it is always followed by a singular verb.

It is you they want to consult.

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 It was the boys who were responsible for the physical arrangements.

11.a The expressions there is and there was are followed by singular substantives
while there are and there were are followed by plural substantives.

There was a bunch of flowers on the table earlier.

There are factions in this organization.

12. When one subject is expressed affirmatively and the other one is expressed negatively,
the verb agrees with the subject expressed affirmatively.

Mildred, not her sisters, is insisting on leaving tonight.

Not the twins, but Jerome, wants to spend Christmas in Baguio.

13. When used as the subject of the sentence, titles, phrases, and other groups of words
require a singular verb.

“Honesty is the best policy” is still my motto.

“Charlie’s Angels” is very entertaining.

14. Nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning take singular verbs.

Mathematics is difficult but interesting.

Politics is the favorite pastime of Filipinos.

15. Some nouns are always used in the plural and must take plural verbs.

The scissors are on the table.

Your spectacles give you a dignified look.

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 16. Expressions indicating an amount of money, a space of time, or a unit of
measurement take a singular verb.

Nowadays, one hundred pesos is a very small amount.

Two yards of cloth is enough for her dress.

17. The verb agrees with the subject, not with the predicate nominative.

The best element of the play was the costumes.

The costumes were the best element of the play.

TASK 1. Encircle the correct verbs.

1. Each student (need, needs) to concentrate on his studies.

2. The refreshments (was, were) served early.

3. There (has, have) been many times that we did not show concern for others.

4. Our parents’ love for us (is, are) truly unselfish.

5. Our neighbors (work, works) abroad.

6. Mumps (is, are) prevalent among children.

7. A study of our natural resources (show, shows) how rich the Philippines is.

8. The committee (decide, decides) all controversies.

9. Neither one of them (is, are) ready to submit a report.

10. Is it you or Nora who (clean, cleans) your room?

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 TASK 2. Underline the appropriate verbs.

1. Everybody (tell, tells) me that you were superb.

2. A large number of dresses (has, have) arrived from India.

3. Both the rice and the soup (is, are) still hot.

4. There (is, are) always regulations to follow.

5. Many a reader (enjoy, enjoys) suspense thrillers.

6. Three-fourths of the cake (was, were) eaten by the kids.

7. It (was, were) you who told a lie.

8. My husband and best friend always (tune, tunes) in to CNN.

9. A number (was, were) assigned to each participant.

10. The scissors (is, are) very sharp.

11. My head and tooth (ache, aches) all the time.

12. My sisters, not I, (want, wants) to go on a vacation.

13. I, Ruth, (is, am) a graduate student.

14. The unemployed (look, looks) for work all the time.

15. The audience (leave, leaves) the theater in small groups.

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 TASK 3. Box the correct verbs.

1. The city police (is, are) well-disciplined.

2. “Ruffa and Ai” (is, are) a good television program.

3. The number of drop-outs (rise, rises) every year.

4. One of her pet dogs (was, were) run over by a passing car.

5. Athletics (was, were) given priority in the physical education program.

6. That pair of pants (is, are) very expensive.

7. Two million pesos (has, have) been earmarked for the project.

8. One-half of the mangoes (is, are) ripe.

9. Either the father or his sons (is, are) going fishing.

10. The orchestra (play, plays) ballroom music the whole night.

11. Kare-kare and bagoong (is, are) the specialty of this restaurant.

12. The intelligent (is, are) always appointed leaders of the groups.

13. Two kilos of rice (cost, costs) forty pesos.

14. His honesty and sincerity (endear, endears) him to everyone he meets.

15. Much dust (is, are) accumulated in this room through the years.

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REFERENCES

Dela Cruz, Evelyn J. & Dimaculangan, Alma S. 2007. Enhancing English Communication Skills.
Philippines: Dane Publishing House, Inc.

Delos Reyes, Maria Corazon M. et.al. 2009. Basic Grammar Skills for Freshmen. Philippines.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/adjectives-order

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syntax

https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/adjectives/order-of-adjectives/

https://grammar.cl/english/adjectives-word-order.htm

http://ufal.mff.cuni.cz/~hana/teaching/ling1/06-Syntax.pdf

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