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Questions and Answers
What is the definition of a clause?
What is the definition of a clause?
Which of the following best describes an independent clause?
Which of the following best describes an independent clause?
What is the role of a dependent clause in a sentence?
What is the role of a dependent clause in a sentence?
Which unit of language structure consists of one or more words occupying a grammatical slot?
Which unit of language structure consists of one or more words occupying a grammatical slot?
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How is a morpheme related to a word?
How is a morpheme related to a word?
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Which term refers to a collection of phonemes?
Which term refers to a collection of phonemes?
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What does the term 'Nominal Group' refer to in English language?
What does the term 'Nominal Group' refer to in English language?
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Which element is considered the nucleus of the Nominal Group?
Which element is considered the nucleus of the Nominal Group?
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What kind of words typically make up the Modifier component of a Nominal Group?
What kind of words typically make up the Modifier component of a Nominal Group?
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In the Nominal Group structure, what does 'm' stand for?
In the Nominal Group structure, what does 'm' stand for?
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Which item is considered optional in the Nominal Group structure?
Which item is considered optional in the Nominal Group structure?
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What is the primary role of the Qualifier in a Nominal Group?
What is the primary role of the Qualifier in a Nominal Group?
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Study Notes
Clause Structure
- A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate.
- It can function as a complete sentence (independent clause) or as part of a sentence (dependent or subordinate clause).
Dependent and Independent Clauses
- Dependent clause: "When the sun sets." (cannot stand alone as a complete sentence)
- Independent clause: "She went for a walk." (can stand alone as a complete sentence)
Phoneme to Sentence Structure
- One or more phonemes make a morpheme.
- One or more morphemes make a word.
- One or more words can be combined to form a group.
- One or more groups are often combined to form a clause.
- One or more clauses can be combined to form a sentence.
- One or more sentences can be combined to form a discourse.
Group Types
- Nominal Group (NG): functions as Subject, Object, Complement, and sometimes Adjunct.
- Verbal Group (VG): functions as Predicator.
- Adverbial Group (AdvG): functions as Adjunct.
- Prepositional Group (PG): functions as Adjunct and as a qualifier of a Nominal Group.
- Adjectival Group (AdjG): functions as Subject/Object Complement.
Examples of Group Types
- S(NG) P(VG) O(NG): "The lovely little lady married a big handsome man."
- S(NG) P(VG) O(NG) A(AdvG): "The Vice Chancellor, Prof Mike Faborode, would be finishing his tenure this June."
- S P O OC: "Sade found Emeka a pig."
- S(NG) P O CO (AdjG) A(PG): "Ngozi's father's wealth made her attractive to suitors from Delta State."
- S P C(AdjG): "Sherifat is quite pretty."
Nominal Group (NG)
- The term Nominal Group (NG) refers to a word or group of words headed by a noun (or pronoun in some cases) that can function as the Subject, Object, or Complement in the English clause structure.
- The English Nominal Group has a composite structure that is often described as (m) h (q).
- h stands for head; m stands for modifier and q stands for qualifier.
- While h is obligatory in the NG structure, (m) and (q) are optional items.
Components of Nominal Group
- M – Modifier: items that come before the head word, including determiners, numerals, adjectives, and nominal items.
- H – Head: the nucleus of the Nominal Group, which can stand alone for the group if forced to select the key word.
- Q – Qualifier: groups of words that post-modify the head word, including relative clauses, prepositional groups, reflexive pronouns, and nominal groups.
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Description
Test your knowledge in identifying the structure elements in sentences with this quiz. Learn about subjects, predicates, clauses, and sentence structures.
