1. Bibliography
• R. Huddleston, G.K. Pullum,
A student’s Introduction to English Grammar, CUP 2005
• R. Huddleston, G.K. Pullum, The Cambridge grammar of the English language, CUP 2002
• Noel Burton Roberts, Analyzing sentences. An introduction to English syntax,
Pearson, 2010
• E. Finegan, Language, its structure and use, Wadsworth, Cengage Lear1989
• G. Yule, The Study of language, CUP 1991

2. Seminar topics
1. Basic concepts in grammar, the parts of speech
2. Verbs, tense, aspect, and mood
3. Clause structure, complements, and adjuncts
4. Nouns and noun phrases
5. Adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and preposition phrases
6. Negation and related phenomena
7. Clause type: asking, exclaiming, and directing
8. Subordination and content clauses
9. Relative clauses
10. Grade and comparison
11. Non-finite clauses and clauses without verbs
12. Coordination, information packaging in the clause
13. Passive Voice
14. Morphology : morphological processes

3. Basic concepts in grammar, the parts of speech
5 October 2012
• Number of people who speak English all over the world.
• Widely spread language
• Language varieties/dialects
• Dialects and styles

4. Dialects
• Language varieties/dialects
• Standard English-the central dialect
• Other dialects, non-standard (regional, local, social)
Examples:
I did it myself. I done it myself.
I haven’t told anybody anything. I ain’t told anybody nothing.
• Differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar
• Grammar more stable and uniform than accent and
vocabulary
• What does grammar deal with? Form of sentences and
smaller units: clauses, phrases and words.

5. Styles
• Formal and informal styles, formal contexts vs casual
conversations.
He was the one with whom she worked.
He was the one she worked with.
• Informal style is not restricted to speech, common in mass
media, printed books on academic subjects.
Informal sentences are not non-standard.

6. What is the difference between
a style and a dialect?

7. Switching between styles within your
native dialect is easy.
Switching between dialects is not.

8. Descriptive and prescriptive
approaches to grammar
• Descriptive grammar books describe the grammatical system
people use when they speak and write.
Show what the language is.
• Prescriptive grammar books tell people how they should speak and
write, give advice.
Show how to avoid mistakes.
Some grammar manuals do not make distinction between standard vs
non-standard dialects, formal vs informal styles. They apply the term
incorrect to both non-standard dialect and informal style. Is it fair?
• Do not mix non-standard or informal with incorrect.

9. More grammatical terms
To talk about a language we need some
standard terms dealing with3 different areas
within the study of a language:
1. Syntax
2. Morphology
3. Semantics
1 &2 concern the form of sentences or words

10. Syntax
• Study of the principles governing how words
can be put together to form sentences.
Ex.
I found an un opened bottle of wine. (admissible)
I found a bottle unopened of wine. (not admissible)
Some customers complained a lot about the product .
Some customers about the product complained a lot .

11. Morphology
Deals with the internal form of words.
Examples:
• unopened: un + open + ed
• inhabited
• inadequately
• preoccupied
• dysfunctional
• illogicality
• unwillingness
• unwellcoming

12. Semantics
• is about meaning
• principles by which words/sentences are
associated with their literal meanings.
Examples:
unopened is the opposite of opened

13. More examples of grammatical terms
• subject/object
• noun, noun phrases, verb, adjective, adverb
pronoun
• tenses
• passive/active voice
• imperative
• clauses

14. Misleading definitions of grammatical terms
Definition of the Past Tense:
„The Past Tense expresses or indicates a time that is in the past.”
Grammatical category vs semantic property
Definition works Definition fails
• The seminar started one • I thought the seminar
hour ago. started next week.
Past tense but not past time.
• If he said that, he was • If he said that, she wouldn’t
wrong. believe him.
Past tense but not past time.
• I offended my friends.
• I regret offending my
friends.
Not every past time reference involves a past tense.

15. Imperative
A book definition: A form or instruction used to issue a command.
Is it a satisfactory definition?
• Command • Shut up!
• Offer • Have a drink.
• Request • Please pass the salt.
• Invitation • Come to dinner.
• Advice • Have a close look at it.
• Instruction • To see the picture click
here.

16. Instead of the term command we can use directive
• I direct you to pass me the salt
• I direct you to click here, to come to dinner.
Go to bed. Sleep well.
Both are imperatives .
Go to bed is a directive
Sleep well is not. I’m not directing you to sleep well. I’m wishing you a
peaceful night.
Please pass me the salt. Could you pass me the salt?
Both sentences are directives but Could you pass me the salt? is not imperative.
It’s a question=interrogative.
Directives can be issued in other ways, not by the use of imperatives.

17. ???????????
• Imperatives
• Declaratives
• Interrogatives
What’s the main difference between imperatives and declaratives in English?
I am happy. Be happy.
I help you. Help me.
Subjects are obligatory in declaratives and omitted in imperatives.

18. How do words combine to form
sentences in Standard English?
Regularities, rules, technical terms.
2 kinds of sentences:
• clausual sentence ( a single clause)
• compound sentence (coordinated clauses, joined by a coordinator)
Ex.:
She is a teacher. He is a doctor. I am a student.
She is a teacher, he is a doctor and I am a student.
I like coffee. He likes tea.
I like coffee but he likes tea.
The idea of a clause is more basic than the idea of a sentence.

19. More technical terms
• subject (Subj) & predicate (Pred)
• Noun phrase (NP), Verb phrase (VP)
Ex.:
Subj Pred Subj Pred Subj Pred
Things change. Mark studied. Students complained.
All things change. Mark studied yesterday. Some students complained about it.
NP VP NP VP
NP: things, Mark, students, all things, some students
Phrase= head + 0 or more dependents
NP = a noun with or without dependents

20. Subj + Pred
• Subj =actor Pred=action
Semantics vs syntax
Subject usually has the form of an NP.
Its default position is before the verb.
Ex.:
Basic clause Interrogative
The seminar has finished. Has the seminar finished?
Mark is here. Is Mark here?
The students complained. Did the students complain?
Rule: the subject proceeds the verb in the basic version and follows it in the interrogative.

21. Words, Lexemes, Inflection
Ex.:
My students have many books and a computer programme; one book deals with
the programme.
programme & programme. books & book
books & book are different words but forms of the same lexeme.
Different inflectional forms of the same lexeme, plural and singular.
Book and books are inflectional forms of the lexeme book.
Ex.:
drive, drives, drove, driving, driven
fast, faster, fastest
Lexeme – a minimal unit (as a word or stem)

22. The parts of speech, 8 categories
Category Example Example Example
noun The students worked That is Mark. We saw him.
verb The students worked. It is clear. I have a headache.
adjective He’s smart. It looks easy. I’ve got a new exam.
determinative The students worked. He needs some All exams change.
books.
adverb The lecturer spoke She’s not very old. I almost died.
clearly.
preposition It’s in my schedule. I gave my notes to Here’s a list of them.
him.
coordinator I got up and left. Mark or Alice took It’s difficult but
it. interesting.
subordinator It’s suprising that my I wonder whether I don’t know if
students were late. it’s true. you’re telling the
truth.

23. Noun (N), (n)
Nouns:
• 37% of the words in almost any text.
• Physical objects, inanimate objects, abstract nouns
• Noun categories in traditional grammar: common nouns (book, man), proper
nouns (Alice, Europe), pronouns (I, you, his, them)
• Inflectional forms: singular, plural
• Nouns function as head in NP.; have a function of a subject in a clause.

24. Verbs (V), (v)
Verbs:
• In clauses verbs point at:
a) an action: I made a cake.
b) some other event: The seminar started.
c) a state: Students know Standard English.
• Auxilary verbs: do, does, did, have, has, will, am,
is, are
• Lexical verbs
• Verbs are head in VPs, predicate in a clause
• Inflectional contrast of tense between past and
present: -ed, -s, -ing.

25. Adjective (Adj)
1. Express properties of people or things; with the verb be describe
states.
The long seminar. Students are happy.
2. Two adjective functions:
ATTRIBUTIVE PREDICATIVE ( after be, become, feel, seem etc.)
The long seminar The seminar is long.
An angry student He became angry.
3. Adjectives are gradable. The degree is indicated by:
• modifiers like - fairly big, suprisingly good, extremely polite, very cold
• inflectional system, comparison- 3 grades: plain, comparative, superlative.
old, older, oldest

26. Adverbs (Adv)
1. Most are derived from adjectives by adding – ly.
2. Other common adverbs: almost, always, not, often, quite,
rather, soon, too, very
3. Adverbs are modifiers of verbs (or VPs), adjectives, adverbs.
Modififes a v or VP She spoke clearly. I often teach them.
Modifies an adj. a remakably long It’s very long.
seminar
Modifies an adv. She spoke quite It’ll end quite soon.
clearly.

27. DETERMINATIVES (D)
• a, an, the, ; definite, indefinite
• this, that, these, those, some, any, many, few,
one, two, three, etc

28. Prepositions (Prep)
• Prepositions express relations of space or time.
across the street, at the corner,, under the bridge,
after classes, before Christmas
• Prepositions depend on nouns, verbs/VPs, adjectives.
Dependent on I sat by the door. I met him after
a verb/VP classes.
Dependent on the student in the the day before that
a noun room
Dependent on keen on grammar superior to others
an adjective

29. Coordinators & subordinators
(Co) & (Sub)
• Coordinators (and, or, but)
My students need good books and more time.
My students need good books. My students need more time.
Coordinators serve to mark coordination between 2 or more expressions of
equal syntactic status.
• Subordinators (that, whether,if)
The seminar is difficult. I realise that the seminar is dififficult.
main clause subordinate clause

30. Complements (object, predicative complement), modifiers
The structure of phrases (VP, NP)
NP: She regularly gives us very useful advice on grammar.
advice-head, on grammar-complement, very useful-modifier
VP: He kept her letters for years.;
kept-head, her letters-complement, for years-modifier
• The structure of VP
Subtypes of complement: object & predicative complement
Predicative complements occur with a limited number of verbs: be, feel, seem.
Object Predicative complement
I met a friend of yours. She was a friend of yours.
She appointed a real idiot. I felt a real idiot.
very friendly (AdjP) can’t be an They seemed very friendly.
object

31. Canonical and Non-canonical clauses
Canonical clauses (syntactically the Non-canonical clauses
most basic or elementary clauses) (more complex syntactically)
• Positive: It is easy. • Negative: It isn’t easy.
• Declarative: I can do it. • Interrogative: Can I do it?
• Declarative: I am patient. • Imperative: Be patient.
• Main: You’re great. • Subordinate: I know that you’re great.
• Non-coordinate: • Coordinate:
That’s Anna. I’m blind. That’s Anna or I’m blind.
• Active: I finished the seminar. • Passive: The seminar is finished.