Specialised Terminology and Examples - English Grammar PDF

English Grammar (course) INTRODUCTION (1) A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that has meaning of its own. For example: cat (one morpheme) cats (two morphemes: cat + plural) mice (two morphemes: mouse + plural). Morphemes can be free or bound. Examples of free morphemes: ca...

English Grammar (course) INTRODUCTION (1) A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that has meaning of its own. For example: cat (one morpheme) cats (two morphemes: cat + plural) mice (two morphemes: mouse + plural). Morphemes can be free or bound. Examples of free morphemes: car, book, woman. A bound morpheme has to be attached to free morphemes to make sense (-s, -er, -ed, -lly, -ing). A word is a linguistic unit that is made up of morphemes. A Phrase is a linguistic unit that is situated between a word and a clause. A phrase has a head. The head is the most important element in this structure (a noun, a verb, an adjective, an adverb, a preposition). If the head is a noun = Noun Phrase; adjective = Adjective Phrase, verb = Verb Phrase, Adverb = Adverbial Phrase, Preposition = Prepositional phrase. The Clause is a grammatical unit, it operates between phrase and sentence. It has a subject and a finite verb. A clause is part of a sentence. A Sentence consists of 2 or more clauses The Noun Phrase A Noun Phrase = a phrase that consists of a noun as its head or it can also have a pronoun (but also adverbs and adjectives) Structure: 1. Only the head: boy, dog 2. Determiner + head: a/the/my boy 3. determiner + modifier + head. E.g.: a young man Pre-nominal modifiers are classified into: 1. Determiners 2. Modifiers Several types of determiners can be identified: 1. Articles: a/an/the 2. Demonstrative adjectives: this, that, these, those 3. Possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their 4. Indefinite adjectives: some, any, no, each, every, either, neither, both, other, another 5. Interrogative adjectives/ wh- forms: what, which, whose (what answer) 6. Fractions: one-fourth my salary 7. Multipliers: double the sum, twice a day, four times the amount 8. Partitives: a slice of bread, a loaf of bread, a bar of chocolate 9. Cardinal numbers: two, six 10. Ordinal numbers: third, forth English Grammar (course) A relative order for these different types of determiners within a noun phrase: 1. CENTRAL DETERMINERS 2. PRE-DETERMINERS 3. POST-DETERMINERS In the English syntax the phrase is a sequence of words that function as a grammatical unit in the structure of a clause but does not include both a subject and a tensed verb, acting instead like a single part of speech, namely as a noun, adjective, adverb, or as the verb of the clause. Any phrase has a head, the central constituent which determines the syntactic type of that phrase. Depending on the core element around which all the other phrasal constituent cluster, the central word that gives the phrase its syntactic properties, six different types of phrases have been identified: noun phrases, prepositional phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrase, verb phrases and verbal phrases (infinitive phrases, gerund phrases and participial phrases) The noun phrase Definition: It consists of a group of words consisting of a noun, called the head-noun (or less frequently of a pronoun, an adjective or an adverb) plus any determiners, premodifiers and/or postmodifiers. The structure: A noun phrase may simply consist of a pronoun (e.g.: they) or of a proper noun (e.g.: Pavarotti), but most often it contains a common noun as head, this head noun being preceded by determiners and/or premodifiers and/or followed by postmodifiers. The head of a noun phrase is a compulsory element, so it cannot be omitted. If the noun is not mentioned, the pronoun one(s) must be used. The head of a noun phrase is usually a noun, but some adverbs, adjectives or pronouns may also perform this role. Determiners are classified as central determiners, predeterminers and post determiners. On the one hand, central determiners exclude each other in a noun phrase. On the other hand, predeterminers and post determiners can either qualify a head-noun by themselves or combine with central determiners; post determiners can even combine with one another. A determiner is a general term for the words or a group of words that appear before a noun or a noun phrase. They’re meant to describe the noun or noun phrase by either specifying, identifying or quantifying it. Also referred to as prenominal modifiers, determiners are commonly placed before a noun and their function is to offer some valuable insight about the specific nature of the noun in question. Keep in mind that several determiners can be used all at once to tell us more about the noun or phrasal noun that follows them. Which is to say, you’re NOT just limited to using one determiner at a time when describing a noun. The difference between a Determiner and an Adjective An adjective also comes before a noun and they’re also meant to describe it, not any different from a determiner. So, does that mean they’re one and the same thing? The answer is NO. The two terms may relate to each other on the ground that they both modify a noun or noun phrase. English Grammar (course) However, when you look at them more keenly, you’ll notice that a determiner is meant to modify a noun by introducing it to the targeted audience, while an adjective modifies it by offering further details about it. Another difference worth noting is that while adjectives can be graded, determiners, on the other hand, cannot. In other words, it’s possible to express adjectives in varying intensities, while the same cannot be done to a determiner. For instance, you can describe the size of an object as either big, bigger or the biggest of them all. But the same cannot be done to a determiner. In short, you can’t possibly add an ‘er’ or ‘est’ to intensify a determiner. Furthermore, while you can do away with adjectives without making any grammatical error, determiners are indispensable or the necessary part of a sentence and doing away with them means making a grave grammatical mistake. Types of Determiners Determiners come in various shapes and forms, with each one of them serving a different function. The different types include articles, demonstratives, quantifiers, interrogatives, and possessives. Articles Only three articles exist – and that is ‘the’, ‘a’, and ‘an’. The article ‘the’ is the definite article, and that’s because it identifies a particular noun. In other words, it’s more specific in nature and its function is to point out which noun, in particular, is being referred to. The other two functions on the other hand ‘a’ and ‘an’ are referred to as indefinite articles, and that’s because they’re more random in nature and don’t actually point out to one particular noun, but a class of them. E.g.: She’s an engineer. His kid is a boy. Pick a friend. She’s the chosen one. Canada is one of the most visited countries in the world. Quantifiers Quantifiers inform us about the quantity or amount of the underlying noun. They’re basically meant to answer the question “how much?” or “how many?” Examples of quantifiers include a little, a few, most, some, much, and any to name a few. Examples in a sentence: How many students attend your class? How much money do you have? Only a little milk is left. Demonstratives As the name suggests, demonstratives are meant to point to a particular noun. They’re also used to indicate the position or location of a noun from the speaker’s point of view. Examples of demonstratives include this, that, these and those. The demonstrative ‘this’ is used to refer to a singular noun that’s near the speaker while ‘these’ refers to items in plural that are near the speaker. English Grammar (course) The demonstrative ‘that’, on the other hand, is used to refer to a singular noun that’s further away from the speaker, while ‘those’ refers to plural nouns that are further away from the speaker. Examples in a Sentence: This is my jacket. These are our cups. That is my uncle. Those are our aunts. Possessives These ones express possession or ownership. They’re different from possessive pronouns in the sense that they can’t stand alone. For instance, it’s grammatically correct to say “this cup is mine”, and NOT “this cup is my”. In which case, ‘mine’ is possessive pronoun while ‘my’ is a possessive determiner. Examples include my, our, his, her, their. Examples in a Sentence: This is my girlfriend. This is our house. She used to be his friend. Interrogatives Interrogatives are meant to ask questions. Examples include what, whose, and which. Examples in a sentence: Whose T-shirt is this? What time are you leaving? Which gift item would you prefer picking for you dad? Predeterminers are: Adverbs of degree and focusing adverbs: rather, quite, such, nearly, fairly, almost, only, just, etc. E.g. rather a jumble, quite a wonderful day, such a fuss, nearly a disaster. Indefinite adjectives: each, either, neither, al, half, both, some, any, many (sometimes the indefinite pronoun is used, followed by the preposition of): E.g. each of the girls, either of your parents, neither of your grandparents, all the people, all of the people, all the time, all of the time. Relative-interrogative pronouns: the pronoun which followed by the preposition of: E. g. which of the books Cardinal numbers followed by the preposition of: E.g. one of the books, twenty of the students Fractions: E.g. one-third my salary, one-fifth the price Multipliers: E.g. double the amount, once a year, Central determiners are: Articles: E.g. such an understanding, rather a surprisingly great success, the most difficult decision Demonstrative adjectives: E.g. this smart question, twice that huge amount, all of these amazing pictures, only those priceless books Possessive adjectives: E.g. my life, all of his children, their foolish questions, one's own business English Grammar (course) Indefinite adjectives: each, every, some, any, no; either, neither, much, many, enough. E.g. each man, every woman, just some naughty kids, any further questions, no additional information, either reply, neither applicant, much ado about nothing, many good ideas, enough time Relative - interrogative adjectives: whose, which, whichever, what, whatever. E.g. whose stupid idea, which foolish question, whichever answer, what specific position, whatever decision Post determiners are: Indefinite adjectives: other, few, a few, fewer, fewest little, a little, less, least, many, much, more, most, several, whole. E.g. the other options, the very few problems, little money, much trouble, most individuals, several suggestions Numerals: - Cardinals: E.g. his one idea, their two cars, those fifty pupils - Ordinals E.g. the first idea, the second car, his tenth attempt - General ordinals: next, last, former, latter, only, previous, subsequent. E.g. the next day, her last book, a previous engagement, the former type, the latter option, the only solution, the subsequent developments various types of possible combinations: 1. Predeterminer + central determiner + noun: Both my books 2. Predeterminer + of + central determiner + noun: One of my books 3. Predeterminers + of + central determiner + noun: Two or three more of my books 4. Central determiner +post determiner +noun: The other books 5. Predeterminer +central determiner +post determiner +noun: All the other books 6. Predeterminer + central determiner +post determiners + noun: Only the first three books 7. Predeterminer +of +central determiner +post determiner +noun: All of those ten books 8. Predeterminers +of +central determiner +post determiner +noun: Many more of those ten books 9. Predeterminer +of +central determiner +post determiners +noun: All of those other ten books THE NOUN PHRASE (PREMODIFIERS AND POSTMODIFIERS) (2) Modifiers Definition: a unit that affects the meaning of another element in the phrase (usually the head noun). Two types: pre-modifiers and post-modifiers. English Grammar (course) PRE-MODIFIERS The following items may function as pre-modifiers to head nouns: adjectives, nouns, the participle, the gerund, adverbs, phrases or whole clauses. 1. Adjectives as a pre-modifier: The features that are characteristic of adjectives are the following: a. Adjectives can occur in pre-modification of a noun. E.g. young man (attributive position). b. Adjectives can function as subject complements (predicative position). E.g.: John is happy. c. they can be modified by intensifiers (very, too, so) d. adjectives can take comparative and superlative forms. 2. The noun as pre-modifier: Nouns can be used as pre-modifiers and sometimes they are regarded as part of the compound noun: head-master. 3. Non-finite forms of the verb can also function as pre-modifiers. Examples: an interesting/an exciting story, a very distinguished scientist. 4. The adverb as a pre-modifier: a few adverbs/adverbial phrases can pre-modify nouns. E.g.: The then president of the United States; a down-to-earth person. 5. Phrases or whole clauses as pre-modifiers: A do-it-yourself device. POST-MODIFIERS 1. The Adjective as a post-modifier. Adjectives can sometimes function as post-modifiers. - Adjectives ending in -able and -ible: the only person visible - A- adjectives. E.g.: the only person alive - Romance adjectives (in stock phrases): the president elect; Court-Martial. 2. The adverb as post-modifiers. E.g. the room up-stairs. 3. The Noun as a post-modifier: As post modifiers, nouns occur mostly in prepositional phrases or in apposition to the head noun. Prepositional phrases – the most important element is the preposition. E.g.: the student at the window. Apposition: for two or more units to be in apposition, they must be identical in reference or the reference of one must be included in the reference of the other. The term apposition is applied when three conditions are met: 1. Each of the appositives can be separately omitted without affecting the grammaticality of the sentence. 2. Each of the appositives has the same syntactic function in the resultant sentences. 3. The reference of the two resultant sentences must be the same. There are two types of appositions: full appositions and partial appositions. 4. Clauses as post-modifiers - Relative clauses function as post-modifiers. E.g. The girl who spoke to me was Mary. - Non-finite clauses English Grammar (course) THE NOUN PHRASE, USEFUL CONCEPTS, AND THE NOUN (3) Structure of the Noun Phrase In an NP, the most important element is the head, and the head can be expressed by: A noun A pronoun An adjective Specialised TERMINOLOGY and EXAMPLES: 1. Antecedent: A word/phrase/clause to which a pronoun refers back. For example: My brother phoned to tell me that he would be late. 2. Anaphor/anaphoric: a word/phrase that refers back to a previously mentioned word/phrase. For example: John said that he would come. 3. Cataphor/cataphoric: the use of a word to point to a later word/phrase/clause. What I say is this: do not smoke. 4. Deixis/deictic: A deictic word is a unit that has the function of relating the utterance to its extra-linguistic context. 5. Pro-form: a linguistic unit (word) that can substitute for another word or linguistic unit. For example: pronouns are pro-forms for nouns. There are also pro-adverbs and pro-adjectives. 6. Dummy word: a word that has a grammatical position but no meaning. It is 9 o’clock. There will be a lot of fun. THE NOUN Definition: a word that expresses beings, things, objects, places, abstract concepts, qualities, phenomena, organizations, communities, sensations, and events. Nouns convey a substantial proportion of the information in most texts. => a noun is the name of anything that may be the subject of discourse => the noun is a naming word, a part of speech that can be described by means of the grammatical categories of case, number, gender. Characteristics: The noun belongs to the world-class that can be inflected for plural. English Grammar (course) The noun can function as subject, direct object, indirect object, attribute, subject complement, and object complement in a sentence. The noun can be preceded by determiners (articles) and (modifiers) CLASSIFICATIONS OF THE NOUN 1. Simple and compound nouns Boy, girls (primary nouns) Compound nouns: bathroom (two nouns), blackboard (an adjective and a noun). 2. Common and proper nouns A common noun is a noun that is not the name of any particular person, place, thing, quality, and so on. It is also known as a generic noun, non-specific noun. A proper noun refers to a particular person, place, object, idea, thing. 3. Concrete and abstract nouns Concrete nouns denote things, objects that are perceived by our senses. Abstract nouns: denote an action, an idea, a quality, a state, things that are perceived by our mind. 4. Individual and collective nouns Individual nouns denote one object. E.g. child, husband; abstract nouns: modesty, joy. Collective nouns denote a plurality of nouns seen as a whole: audience, team. 5. Countable and uncountable nouns Countable nouns: nouns that can be counted, they have singular and plural forms. Uncountable nouns are nouns that have no plural form. Singularia tantum and pluralia tantum: Singularia tantum: these nouns have no plural form and the agreement with the verb is in the singular. E.g.: oil, sugar, wisdom, advice, information. Pluralia tantum: these nouns have plural meaning and the agreement with the verb is in the plural. Some examples include: summation plurals (objects that are made up of two parts): trousers, scissors, shorts. verbal nouns in -ing as in surroundings, doings, winnings substantivized adjectives: the rich, the poor, the smart. English Grammar (course) THE CASE (4) CASE – “the relation in which a noun stands to some other words, or the change of form (if any) by which this relation is indicated” THE NOMINATIVE - it is the case for the subject of the verb - special constructions: Nominative with the Infinitive John was seen to leave. Nominative with the Participle John was found sleeping. Absolute constructions: (participial and infinitival) His work done, John left. John paid 100 lei, the rest to be paid next week. THE DATIVE - it is the case expressing an indirect object or recipient - it is marked by the prepositions to, for or by strict word order → The Sentence Dative: Dative of Reference and Dative of Interest → Dative of direction and Internal Dative The prepositional dative is used when: - an accusative precedes it: Give flowers to Mary. - the dative is emphatically used at the beginning of the sentence: For them I’ll never … - the dative is governed by an adjective: John is nice to Mary. - the sentence contains a verb that obligatory takes a preposition: explain to - the dative is governed by a noun or pronoun Mary was like a mother to the poor. The dative without preposition is used: - when it stands before an accusative: Show your brother the new book. - if the accusative is a pronoun we have a prepositional dative: I told it to the boy. THE ACCUSATIVE - is marked by strict rules of word order - it is the case of: direct object; adverbial; attribute; prepositional object. - ‘cognate accusatives’: to sleep a sound sleep THE GENITIVE - it is the case of nouns and pronouns that indicates possession or close association. - The Genitive may be used to express the following meanings: - possessive genitive (expresses possession) John’s car - - possessive of origin (expresses authorship) John’s essay (John wrote the essay) English Grammar (course) - descriptive genitive (describes the head noun) today’s paper - subjective genitive the doctor’s arrival (the doctor arrived) - objective genitive: the enemy’s defeat (They defeated the enemy) (it can also be an example of subjective genitive: The enemy defeated ….) - partitive genitive: a slice of bread; part of the audience; five of his books - genitive of gradation: the king of kings - local genitive: See you at Mary’s - appositive genitive: the island of Jersey; the month of June Form: 1. Synthetical/Saxon/Inflected/-s genitive 2. Analytical/Prepositional/Periphrastic/of-genitive THE SYNTHETICAL GENITIVE The synthetical genitive is a result of the Old English genitive and is closely related to the genitive in –es which occurs in German (e.g. des Buches). In writing, the synthetical genitive can be rendered in two ways: 1. with an apostrophe + s, added to the singular number (e.g. my son’s name), to the irregular plural number of certain nouns (e.g. children’s toys, men’s work). 2. with an apostrophe only, added to the regular form of the plural (e.g. the students’ books) and to proper nouns ending in –s (e.g. Dickens’ novels). Note: a. The general rule specifies that apostrophe + s is added to the singular form/the nominative form, singular, irrespective of the ending of the noun, e.g. my friend’s name, the horse’s legs, the ox’s hoofs, St. Thomas’s Hospital, Dickens’s novels, Wells’s novels. Also, foreign proper names take an apostrope + s, e.g. Columbus’s egg, Septimus’s words, Louise’s letters, Hercules’s tasks, Socrates’s works. However, some grammarians suggest the use of the prepositional genitive with foreign proper names, e.g. the work of Demosthenes, the principles of Hippocrates. b. During the last decades, the use of the apostrophe only (without s) after nouns ending in –s, -z, -x, is common, e.g. Dickens’ novels, the actress’ part, the waitress’ smile, St. James’ Park. c. The zero form may also occur in fixed phrases with for.....sake, associated in writing with the absence of s and sometimes even with that of the apostrophe, e.g. for goodness sake/for goodness’ sake; for conscience sake/for conscience’s sake. Proper nouns ending in a sibilant, as well as nouns that do not end in a sibilant, followed by sake, take apostrophe + s, e.g. for Thomas’s sake, for Alice’s sake, for Louise’s sake, for order’s sake, for art’s sake. English Grammar (course) d. In speech apostrophe + s is pronounced [s] after voiceless consonants, e.g. Pete’s car; [z] after voiced consonants and vowels, e.g. Bob’s car, the boy’s bag; [iz] after sibilants (s, z, ș, tș, j, dj), e.g. Ross’ bag. e. Noun phrases whose possessive meaning is not marked in any way are called implicit or juxtaposed genitives. They appear mainly in names of organizations, institutions, companies, e.g. the United Nations Organization, the Students Association, or in various compounds, many of which are scientific, technical terms, e.g. sedimentation speed, distribution law, shepherd-dog. In some noun phrases the apostrophe or apostrophe + s is deleted together with the head noun, e.g. Harrods, Selfridges, Longmans (Harrod’s shop; Longman’s printing house). The dropping of the apostrophe in spelling allowed the –s inflection to be directly attached to the noun, like a plural inflection, e.g. Harrods are offering... The plural agreement with the verb is explained by the collective-noun character. The synthetical genitive is used: - with nouns denoting persons: the student’s books - with names of persons: John’s books - with nouns denoting beings and their names (other than persons): the dog’s barking - with nouns denoting measurement in time, weight, space, value, etc.: a week’s holiday * The inflected genitive is used frequently with inanimate nouns because of its concision, as in one of the city’s streets * It is possible to say: the student’s book or the book of the student; the cat’s tail or the tail of the cat. * It is possible to say Mary’s dress but not the dress of Mary - the elliptic genitive: there are cases when the head noun is not expressed: - when the head noun has been mentioned before and we want to avoid repetition, as in Is this your car? No, it is John’s (John’s car). - when the head noun denotes an institution, a public building The baker’s (shop), St. Paul’s (Cathedral), my aunt’s (house) - when the head noun occurs in a double genitive construction John is a friend of Mary’s. - the double genitive: consists of an inflected genitive + an analytical genitive A friend of my brother’s This construction is important in differentiating meanings: A picture of my brother (a picture representing my brother) A picture of my brother’s (a picture belonging to him; painted by him) English Grammar (course) THE ANALYTICAL GENITIVE - formed of a noun preceded by the preposition of - it is characteristic of neuter nouns (inanimate but also animate) The colour of the dress; the barking of the dog - also used in expressing the date: the 18th of July; the month of July - the analytical genitive is preferred to the inflected genitive: - with proper and animate nouns occurring in complex NPs/coordinate phrases e.g. the answers of the students present. - when we want to emphasize the head noun, e.g. the plays of Shakespeare - with substantivized adjectives denoting a group of people, e.g. the struggle of the poor - with the objective genitive, e.g. the murder of Caesar THE ARTICLE (5) - an article is a determiner that marks noun phrases as definite or indefinite. - the term definite indicates reference to an identifiable individual or set of individuals. Some examples: John / the man = definite noun phrase, it refers to a specific person. the men refers to a set of persons that can be identified in context; she is a definite pronoun. the in the woman is a definite article. - the term indefinite does not indicate reference to an identifiable individual or set of individuals: John has to see a student; the phrase a student does not indicate specifically which student John has to see; it is thus an indefinite noun phrase. a in a student is an indefinite article someone in I have to see someone is an indefinite pronoun. - there are three articles in English: the definite article, the indefinite article, and the zero article - the definite and the indefinite articles have strong and weak forms. The strong form of the definite article is [ði:]; the weak forms are [ðə] before consonants and [ði] before vowels. The strong forms of the indefinite article are [ei] before consonants and [æn] before vowels; the weak forms are [ə] before consonants and [ən] before vowels. In normal speech, it is the weak forms that are used. English Grammar (course) THE DEFINITE ARTICLE The definite article may be used with singular and plural countable nouns as well as with uncountable nouns. Some of the functions of the definite article are: 1.The demonstrative or deictic function. The definite article is derived from a demonstrative pronoun, so it still retains, in certain contexts and set-phrases, a demonstrative function, e.g. at the moment (at this moment). 2. The definite article may be used with specific reference, i.e. suggesting that the following noun refers to a definite, particular object or person, distinct from all other objects/persons of the same kind. We may distinguish between: a. situational specific reference (SSR) and b. linguistic specific reference (LSR) a. situational specific reference (SSR) - involves the use of the definite article with nouns whose reference is immediately understood from the context, e.g. Give me the book, please. - one type of situational use of the definite article is with nouns considered unique, e.g. the sun, the moon, the sky, etc. - another type of situational use is with nouns denoting parts of the body; the definite article suggests inherent possession, e.g. John hit me in the back. John was injured in the leg. b. linguistic specific reference (LSR) can be anaphoric or cataphoric. If the definite article refers back to a noun already mentioned, it is said to have an anaphoric function. E.g. A fitness trainer and a designer design clothes for women [...]. Last week, the fitness trainer and the designer … If the definite article has forward reference to a postmodifier (e.g. the child reading in the corner), or if it determines a noun that has an adjective in the superlative (e.g. the tallest boy) or an adjective as pre-modifier (the new blue dress) it is said to have a cataphoric function. In all these cases the definite article suggests that the noun it determines is a new element. 3. The definite article can be used with generic reference. It suggests that the noun it determines is used in its most general sense. Thus, the definite article may perform a generic function: - before a singular countable noun, e.g. The dog is my favourite animal. - before collective generic nouns, e.g. the public, the aristocracy - before plural countable nouns and before uncountable nouns if they have prepositional post- modification by an of-phrase; in this case the definite article has a limited generic reference, e.g. the rivers of Romania. - before nationality names, e.g. the French, the Germans - before substantivized adjectives denoting a class of people: the young - before substantivized adjectives denoting abstractions: the good/evil/future - before the names of musical instruments used in a general sense, e.g. John plays the piano. English Grammar (course) 4. The definite article may have a distributive function when used with nouns expressing a unit: John is paid by the hour. You can buy them by the hundred. 5. The definite article may be used with nouns that have unique reference, i.e. proper nouns. 6. Other uses of the definite article: - to denote something typical (mainly in the predicative), e.g. He is quite the gentleman. - to suggest a superlative meaning, e.g. John was talking about the [ði:] writer (= the best of writers). - in set phrases, e.g. to tell the time/truth, to break the record, to play the fool, on the one hand, on the other hand, to take the trouble, all the time, etc. - with the ordinal numerals, the ordinal adjectives next and last, e.g. the second example, the next stop, the last sentence. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE The indefinite article is used mainly before singular countable nouns or before nouns which, although plural in form, are singular in meaning, e.g. This is a book; This is a means of transport. Sometimes, it may occur with nouns that are basically uncountable, e.g. John takes an interest in it; John got an excellent education. The indefinite article has some functions: 1. The numerical function – the definite article is derived from an OE numeral adjective, so it has a numerical function and may often be used instead of the numeral one, e.g. There was a table and four chairs in the room. This function is obvious when it occurs before numerals or their equivalents and in a number of set phrases, e.g. a million, a dozen, a couple, in a word. The numerical function is also evident when the article is used with the meaning ’every/each’ e.g. once/twice a week, three times a month, sixty miles an hour. 2. The indefinite article may be used with specific reference, i.e. the noun it determines is considered as a single, indefinite sample/specimen of a class (one of a class), e.g. Give me a book to read. Its most frequent indefinite specific reference is cataphoric: There is a boy outside, he is waiting for you. The cataphoric function can also be shown in prepositional objects, e.g. As a teacher, he came across unusual situations. In certain structures, the indefinite article may also have an anaphoric function, referring together with the noun it determines to an antecedent, expressed or implied, e.g. What a great idea! / A man like you can do it. English Grammar (course) *Consider the example given above: He is a teacher; but when they denote uniqueness or have abstract sense, they do not take an article, e.g. He was elected President of the Company; He is John Smith, Lecturer in English; He acted as interpreter; She got a job as waitress; We met Mary Brown, daughter of John Brown. *The form without the definite article denotes a tone full of consideration. The form with the definite article (the daughter of) is nothing but a statement. 3. The indefinite article may be used with generic reference, assigning a person or object to a particular class or kind, and considering it in its most general sense, e.g. A bird can fly. In a way the generic function is but a variety of the cataphoric function and this is evident in questions referring to definitions, e.g. What is a dog? 4. The indefinite article may be used with nouns that have unique reference, i.e. with proper names (names of persons), to indicate that the person is perhaps unknown to the speaker, e.g A Mr. Smith wants to see you; to indicate that it is a member of a family, e.g. He is a Johnson; to indicate that it has the qualities or characteristics typical of someone else (in this case the proper noun is in fact used as a common noun), e.g. He thinks he is a Hemingway. 5. The indefinite article occurs in many set phrases, e.g. as a rule, in a hurry, all of a sudden, have a good time, for a change, go for a walk, have a look, not to care a straw, a great deal, etc. * After words like the business of, the part of, the profession of, the trade of, e.g. He played the part of a doctor; He followed the trade of a potter. * We use the indefinite article after without – such – what followed by a singular noun (with or without an adjective) that can have plural form, e.g. What an idea; This is a seat without a back; Such an idiot; What a lovely day. The indefinite article is not used in cases where these words precede plurals or nouns that do not normally have plural form, e.g. Man cannot live without friends; John was without food; Such lovely September days; What fine paper; What good news. * When the adjective such is preceded by some or no, or when what is an interrogative adjective, the noun does not take the indefinite article, e.g. There is no such thing; What day of the month is this? I had some such idea when I started writing the essay. * Compare Romanian structure without articles, e.g. She is an angel of a woman. * I have a dog – article denotes a common noun; I have one dog – numeral, focus on number. Sometimes a is used in its numerical sense; but one can never have the sense of the article a, e.g. Wait a minute; A pint of beer was $2; A stitch in time saves nine. English Grammar (course) * The following nouns take no indefinite article: nouns that have no plural (health, advice, furniture, permission, progress, work), e.g. He gave me good advice. * When two or more nouns or adjectives are linked by and it is only the first noun that takes an article, e.g. She reads in a slow and distinct voice; A little boy and girl are crossing the road. For emphasis or in cases where the nouns/adjectives denote different persons/things the article is repeated, e.g. This car is the smartest and the best (for emphasis). Compare: The professor and poet lectures on Monday (one person) – The professor and the poet lecture on Monday (two persons). THE ZERO ARTICLE Cases of zero determination of a noun should not be mixed up with cases of article omission, when the article is intentionally left out from the noun phrase and can be easily supplied. The omission may occur: - in titles, newspaper articles: Hostage gang escapes. - in stage directions: Door opens. Boy enters. - in notes, telegrams, etc. - in literary writings, as a poetic licence. The zero article is used with both concrete and abstract uncountable nouns as well as with countable nouns when they have generic reference, e.g. Life is hard. If the reference of the noun is specific, the definite article is used, e.g. The life we lived was awful. Uses of the zero article: 1. nouns denoting family relations with unique reference may behave like proper nouns and take the zero article, e.g. Dad/Daddy has left; Mum is in the kitchen. The same is true of names of familiar persons, such as doctor, teacher, nurse, cook, e.g. Teacher was pleased with my work; Nurse has arrived. 2. the nouns man and woman when used generically (the former in the sense of the human race and the latter in the sense of the female sex) take the zero article, e.g. Man is mortal; Woman is weaker than man. 3. the zero article is used with subject and object complements when they denote a profession, office, etc… normally held at one time by one person only, e.g. He is secretary of our association. - with the verb to turn the complement always has zero article, e.g. John started his career as a teacher but later he turned actor. English Grammar (course) 4. the zero article is used with with appositive nouns denoting title, rank, office and sometimes kinship, e.g. Mr. Smith, president of our association, was late; John married Jane Smith, daughter of Mr. Smith; Charles, Prince of Wales, succeeds to the throne (when the title followed by ‘of’ is an apposition, the article is not expressed). The title, rank, office can be held at one time by one person only. 5. there are some countable nouns that take the zero article in abstract or rather specialized use, mainly in certain idiomatic expressions containing the verb be or verbs of movement, or prepositions like at, by, after, before, etc. Here are included: - names of meals used in a general sense or denoting the time of the meal, e.g. Stay for dinner/lunch. If the noun has specific reference, it may take the definite or indefinite article, e.g. We are having the lunch mother has cooked. - the nouns bed, camp, church, college, court, harbour, hospital, home, market, school, sea, shore, class, table, town, work, etc. used in a general, abstract sense, e.g. to go to bed/to church/to college/ to hospital/ home/ to market; to be in bed/in camp/at college/in class/at home/ out of town, etc. If all these nouns are used in their concrete meaning, the definite or indefinite articles are used, e.g. I put the book on the bed. - nouns denoting means of transportation, preceded by the preposition by, e.g. travel by car/train, etc. If the nouns have a concrete meaning, and are preceded by other prepositions, the definite/indefinite article is used, e.g. to take the/a bus; to be on the bus. - nouns denoting the time of the day or night in an abstract or general sense, e.g. at dawn, at sunrise, at noon, at sunset, etc. If the noun has specific reference, the definite article is used, e.g. I met him in the afternoon; We’ll talk in the evening. * Nouns denoting time division, preceded by last and next, also take the zero article if last and next express time relations, e.g. She arrived last night; I shall go there next week; We’ll take a short holiday next month. If last and next express order, the definite article is used, e.g. The last month of the year is December. * The names of seasons may be used with the zero article, though the definite article may be used even in general statements, e.g. What sports are done in (the) winter? Winter is coming. If the noun has specific reference, the definite article is compulsory, e.g. It was cold in the winter of 1996. 6. the zero article may be found with names of illnesses, e.g. appendicitis, diabetes, influenza, e.g. John suffers from diabetes; John has appendicitis. Other names of illnesses may take an article, e.g. to have (a/the) toothache; to have (the) flu/ (the) measles, etc. 7. the zero article is typical of nouns used in direct address, e.g. Where are you, boy? What’s the matter, young lady? English Grammar (course) 8. singular countable nouns may be used with the zero article if they occur in interrogative sentences, preceded by a wh-word, e.g. What book are you reading? Which way did he go? 9. names of languages are used with the zero article, e.g. John speaks English and French. If they are modifiers of the noun language, the definite article is used, e.g. the English language. 10. nouns pre- or post-determined by a cardinal numeral take the zero article, e.g. three lessons, lesson three. If the nouns have specific reference, the definite article is used, e.g. The three lessons were interesting. 11. the zero article is characteristic of various adverbial phrases, e.g. arm in arm, hand in hand, day by day, face to face, husband and wife, from right to left, from east to west, from time to time, from top to toe; other adverbial phrases: in face of, in place of, beyond reach, beyond hope of, in case of, in silence, by mistake, by chance, with care, with pleasure, hands in pockets, gun in hand. 12. the zero article is also used with nouns that have unique reference, i.e. proper nouns. ARTICLES AND PROPER NOUNS In writing proper nouns start with a capital letter: London (not all nouns that start with a capital letter are proper nouns, e.g. nationality nouns: the Italians). GEOGRAPHICAL AND PLACE NAMES WITH THE DEFINITE ARTICLE 1. Groups of islands: the British Isles, the Hawaiian Islands. Sometimes there are alternatives: the Orkney Islands or the Orkneys. 2. Mountain ranges and groups of hills: the Alps, the Himalayas. Sometimes there are alternatives: the Rocky Mountains or the Rockies. 3. Geographical regions: the Midlands, the Crimea, the South of England. 4. Deserts: the Sahara, the Gobi Desert. 5. Rivers, streams, canals: the Thames, the Nile, the Panama Canal. With rivers you can include ‘river’ as part of the name: the River Severn. 6. Seas and oceans: the Indian Ocean, the Black Sea. Sometimes there are alternatives: the Atlantic or the Atlantic Ocean. 7. Other sea features: the English Channel, the Straits of Dover, the Gulf of Mexico. Note: On maps the definite article is usually not shown. GEOGRAPHICAL AND PLACE NAMES WITHOUT AN ARTICLE 1. Continents: Europe, Africa, Asia, America. But: The African Continent. 2. Countries: India, France, Germany. Some countries have the definite article, in particular those which contain common nouns: the United States of America, the United Kingdom. This is the same with abbreviated alternatives: the USA, the UK. English Grammar (course) - Plurals also have the definite article: the Netherlands, the Philippines. - With the names of countries that have developed from geographical regions there are often two possibilities, with or without the definite article: Sudan or the Sudan, Yemen or the Yemen, Argentina or the Argentine, Cameroun or the Cameroons, Ukraine or the Ukraine, Ivory Coast or the Ivory Coast. The tendency is to use the form without the definite article. 3. Political and administrative regions of countries: California, Bavaria, Kent. 4. Villages, towns and cities: London, Glasgow. But: The Hague (the definite article is part of the place name). 5. Bays: San Francisco Bay. Where there are two nouns separated by OF, the definite article is used: the Bay of Bengal, the Bay of Pigs. 6. Lakes: Lake Michigan. There are some exceptions: the Great Salt Lake, the Lake of Geneva (also Lake Geneva). 7. Individual islands: Ireland, Bermuda, Sicily. There are exceptions when two nouns have OF in between: the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight. 8. Individual mountains: Ben Nevis, Everest/Mount Everest, Mont Blanc, Mount Fuji. Some names keep the definite article: the Matterhorn, the Jungfrau. NAMES OF BUILDINGS AND INSTITUTIONS The following names typically have the definite article (on maps the definite article is not shown): 1. Hotels, pubs, restaurants: the Ritz, the Hilton, the Royal Oak. Restaurants whose name is the possessive form of a person’s name have no article: Marco’s. 2. Theatres and cinemas: the Globe, the Odeon. The definite article may distinguish a theatre from the street it is in: the Whitehall (theatre), Whitehall (a street). 3. Museums and galleries: the British Museum, the National Gallery. The following names typically have no article: 1. Stations and airports: Heathrow (airport), Euston (station). 2. Schools, colleges, universities: Manchester Grammar School, Cambridge University. - There are universities which are referred to with expressions including OF, and these have the definite article: the University of Wales. - If abbreviated, there is no article: UCLA (the University of California at Los Angeles) - Many universities have both possibilities: London University or the University of London (which is the official name). 3. Churches, cathedrals, abbeys: St Peter’s, Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey. With abbeys named after religious orders, and with those followed by OF, there is a definite article: the Dominican Abbey, the Abbey of Cluny. Note: When you refer back to a particular building, you can use the definite article in front of the word for the building English Grammar (course) NAMES OF STREETS AND ROADS - Names of streets, roads and squares tend to have no article: Broadway, Oxford Street. - There are exceptions: the High Street (in any town), and two streets in London: the Mall, the Strand. - Certain roads can have the definite article or no article: (the) Old Kent Road. - Highways and motorways tend to have the definite article: the A1, the M6. - Names of foreign streets and squares tend to keep the definite article if there is one in the original language: the Via Veneto, the Boulevard St Michael. NAMES OF SHIPS, TRAINS, SPACECRAFT - The names of ships usually have the definite article: the Titanic, the Queen Elisabeth. The names of smaller boats have no article (e.g. a 12-metre yacht, Crusader). - Established train services have the definite article: the Orient Express. - Spacecraft tend to have no article: Apollo 17, Challenger. NAMES OF SPORTING EVENTS - Names of sporting events usually have the definite article: the Olympic Games, the World Cup, the British Open. - Names which are taken from the place where the event occurs do not have the definite article: Wimbledon (for tennis), Ascot (for horse-racing events), Henley (for rowing). NAMES OF FESTIVALS Names of religious and other festivals have no article: Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, but note: the 4th of July. - You can pick one particular event by using the definite article: I remember the Christmas when my friends ….. NAMES OF ORGANIZATIONS - Names of well-known organizations typically have the definite article, and they keep it when they are abbreviated: the United Nations, the BBC, the Labour Party, the FBI, the EC. - If an abbreviation is pronounced as a word, then there is no article: NATO, OPEC, UNICEF. - We usually refer to chains of shops with no article: General Motors, Sony, Shell, Nissan. - If a word like ‘company’ is used, then the definite article is used: the Bell T. Company. NAMES OF NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS - Names of newspapers published in English tend to have the definite article: the Times, the Guardian, the Daily Mail. The one exception is: TODAY. - You do not use the definite article with names of foreign newspapers: Le Monde. - Names of periodicals such as magazines and journals have either the definite article or no article: Punch, Newsweek, the Spectator. English Grammar (course) NAMES OF POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS - The names of most political or government bodies and institutions have the definite article: the House of Commons, the Cabinet, the State Department, the Bundestag, the Finance Ministry, the Supreme Court. - Exceptions: Parliament, Congress, and names of councils (Leeds City Council). - Names of locations and buildings that are used to refer metaphorically to political institutions stay as they are: Whitehall, Westminster, Downing Street, the Kremlin. NAMES OF MUSICAL GROUPS Names of musical groups can have either no article or the definite article: Queen, the Beatles, Dire Straits, the Rolling Stones, the Doors. The choice of the name depends on the group. PERSONAL NAMES - The names of people usually have no article: John, Mary. - There are situations where the definite article is used, i.e. when you are referring to a family by making the name plural: the Masons. - You can stress the definite article with names of people to mean someone famous: ‘I met Tom Jones the other day’. ‘You mean the Tom Jones?’ - The definite article is used with some titles: the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh. - The definite article is also used in the descriptive names of some monarchs: William the Conqueror, Ivan the Terrible. - The indefinite pronoun can be used with personal names, where it means ‘someone called…’, e.g. the librarian, a Mr Smith. NOTE. There are cases where we use converted proper nouns: - When we want to suggest that someone or something is similar to someone or something famous: He is another Einstein/Leonardo da Vinci. - When we are talking about a copy or instance of something, especially a newspaper or magazine, e.g. a Times means ‘a copy of the Times’. - When we want to pick out a particular ‘version’ of something, e.g. This is not the London I used to know. THE ADJECTIVE (6) Characteristics of the adjective: A word is not an adjective in isolation Premodification of a noun (attributive position): a nice person Most adjectives can be both predicative and attributive, but some are either just attributive or just predicative English Grammar (course) They can take intensification: the children are very happy Comparative and superlative forms: happier/the happiest, more/the most intelligent Semantic sub-classification 1. Stative/dynamic adjectives - Stative: stable, they can’t take continuous tenses (tall) - Dynamic: temporary or changing conditions (careful, awkward, brave) Restrictions: a stative adjective can’t be used in a progressive or imperative form 2. Gradable/non-gradable adjectives - Gradable: allow comparative/superlative forms, any type of intensifiers Ex: very young, extremely creative - Non-gradable: they don’t allow any of the above Ex: atomic, married, amazing, nationalities (British, French), absolutes (freezing, starving, exhausted) ! we can use really both for non-gradable and gradable adjectives! for non-gradable adjectives we can use absolutely and completely as intensifiers 3. Inherent/non-inherent adjectives - Inherent: most adjectives are inherent; they tell you something about the referent directly; can be reformulated Ex: a tall woman/actress/mother/wife; an old man (a man who is old); difficult questions (questions which are difficult) - Non-inherent: does nothing of the things above Ex: a complete idiot, a heavy smoker The syntactical sub-classification - Attributives: a noble character - Predicative: his character is noble - Both predicative and attributive: a beautiful woman ~ the woman is beautiful - Peripheral adjectives: they can take either attributive or predicative positions, not both - Central adjectives: they can be both predicative and attributive Intensifying adjectives - Emphasizers: they have heightening effect Ex: an outright lie, a real hero, certain - Amplifiers: upper extremes; when they are inherent, they are attributive Ex: a complete victory, a complete fool - Limiter adjectives: the main reason, the only occasion, the precise reason, the same student Ex: You are the very man I want to see. English Grammar (course) Related to adverbials - My former friend; an occasional visitor - The late president - A hard worker; a big eater - An excellent pianist - A fast car Denominal adjectives - Criminal law - An atomic scientist - A medical school Adjective order: OSASCOMP - Opinion - Size - Age - Shape - Colour - Origin - Material - Purpose or type Compound adjectives – Degrees of comparison 1. The first element preserves its proper meaning => we compare the first element 2. The elements form a sense unit 3. The first element does not have degrees of comparison => we use more/the most NON-FINITE VERB FORMS (7) THE INFINITIVE Form: the bare infinitive and the to-infinitive The active infinitive: to work The active perfect infinitive: The continuous infinitive: to The passive infinitive: to be to have worked be working told The passive perfect infinitive: The perfect continuous to have been told infinitive: to have been working Verb characteristics: - tense, aspect and voice distinctions: to read, to have read, to be reading, to be read, to have been read - can have a direct object (if it is the infinitive of a transitive verb) I hope to see her soon. - can be modified by an adverb: She wants to speak French fluently. English Grammar (course) Noun characteristics: - it can be the subject of a sentence: To work hard is necessary in order to succeed. - it can function as an object: I hope to see you soon. The infinitive with ‘to’ - Full verbs such as learn, remember, forget, promise, agree, swear, refuse, propose, regret, try, etc.: I regret to tell you that I will not come. - the verbs to appear, to happen, to seem: He happened to be at home at the moment. - the full verbs discover, wonder, understand, etc. + how: You will understand how to do this. - the auxiliary be, have: I have to go home earlier. - the modal verbs ought, used: I ought to go home earlier. - expressions: to put it another way, to tell you the truth, to cut a long story short. Split infinitive: to fully understand ‘to think fit’ and ‘to see fit’: They thought fit to blame everything on Tom. Short/bare infinitive (A bare infinitive, on the other hand, is simply the base form of the verb without “to” (e.g., “drink”)): - after modal verbs: I must get some sleep. - after verbs expressing physical perception (see, feel): I felt somebody put his hands on my shoulder. I felt him to be a good person. (mental perception) I felt it to be true. (mental perception) - after verbs like watch, observe, let, make, help: They watched the car disappear into the distance. Let them play in the garden. They made me repeat the experiment. BUT: I was made to repeat the experiment. - after the constructions would rather, would sooner, rather than, sooner than, had better: We’d better stop now. - in special questions beginning with why: Why not call her? - list of infinitives: I want to enter this faculty and study. (related) It is better to die than to be defeated. (different, not related) - expressions: let go, hear say, make believe, hear tell. E.g. We didn't have cupboards so we made do with boxes. Usage of the infinitive 1. I expect to be there. I expect him to be there. He appointed him to be his secretary. He is believed to be a good writer. English Grammar (course) You are supposed to know the rules of the school. They are supposed to have discovered America. You are supposed to have finished by now We have no choice but (to) start everything from the beginning. I hurried to the house only to find out it was empty. He returned home to learn that his daughter had just signed the contract. He is sure to come to the party. He is sure that he will come to the party. THE GERUND (verb + noun characteristics) Verb features: - tense, aspect and voice distinctions: writing, being written, having written, having been written - can have a subject: I don’t mind you calling me often, but I’d like you not to call me in the middle of the night. - can have a direct object: Would you mind opening the window? - can be modified by an adverb: He enjoys driving quickly. Noun features: - it can be the subject of a sentence: Running is relaxing. - it can function as a direct object: Stop complaining. - it may take the plural inflections: Such goings-on. - it may take the inflection of the genitive: We are talking for talking’s sake. - it may be preceded by articles: There was a gentle tapping on the door. - it may be modified by attributes: There was much coming and going. - it may be used to form compounds in the same way as a noun: a sleeping bag. - it may be coordinated with nouns: Travelling and hotel accomodation is always first class. Difference in meaning: I hate going to the market. I hate to go to the market. He stopped to smoke. He stopped smoking. Remember to write the email I remember writing the email I wouldn't advise taking the car. I wouldn’t advise you to take the car We don't allow/permit smoking in the lecture room. We don’t allow/permit people to smoke in the lecture room. The headmistress has forbidden singing in the corridors. The headmistress has forbidden children to sing [...]. English Grammar (course) THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE (verb + adjective characteristics) Verb characteristics: - tense, aspect and voice distinctions: writing, being written, having written, having been writing, having been written Adjective characteristics: Mary is a loving child. elliptic relative: The boys [coming back from …] operates like a relative clause, postmodifying the head noun Dangling/Misrelated participles 1. My wife had a talk with Sally, explaining the problem. 2. Looking out of the window, there was a wonderful range of mountains. 3. Being French, it’s surprising that she’s such a terrible cook. Having so little time, there was not much that I could do. 4. Generally/broadly speaking,... Judging from his expression, he’s in a bad mood. Taking everything into consideration, they ought to get another chance. Gerund or present participle? a waiting room a sleeping pill working conditions a waiting train a sleeping baby working men & women I cannot get used to that boy avoiding my eyes all the time. Children suffering like that is our conscience. Children suffering like that are our conscience. THE PAST PARTICIPLE Adjectival value: - Attributive: lost property - Predicative: My faith is gone. - Substantival: the bereaved Verbal value: - I have/had worked. - Battles were lost and won. The Present Participle versus the Past Participle He found the fire burning. versus He found the house burned down. English Grammar (course) Active Past Participle: - a well-read person (BUT NOT a read person); a much-travelled man; recently-arrived immigrants - She is retired now. My family are all grown up now. This class is the most advanced. - A retired teacher, the fallen angels, an escaped prisoner MODAL VERBS (8) 1. Modal verb – the term refers to any of a subgroup of auxiliary verbs that express mood - can/could may/might must will/would shall/should are central modals - dare, need, ought to, used to are marginal modals (aka semi-modals) - will/would, can/could, should are the most frequently used modals 2. Mood – is a grammatical category that expresses the degree of reality of a proposition as perceived by the speaker; it shows whether the verb is expressing fact, command, hypothesis. - traditional grammar recognizes: the indicative (factual assertions) the imperative (requests, demands) the subjunctive (non-factuality) - mood distinctions are expressed by: 1. the inflection of the verb 2. the use of specialized lexical items – modals 3. Modality – a semantic term that refers to the whole semantic field of modal contrasts - modality is seen as a synonym for mood by many linguists - a terminological distinction between mood - modality is not clearly observed - in our course: we use the term mood to refer to a grammatical category. we use the term modality as a semantic term. 4. Proposition – a term derived from philosophy; it refers to the unit of meaning that forms the subject matter of a statement; We identify one proposition in: The chair is white. We identify three propositions in: These nice black shoes are expensive (1. These shoes are nice 2. These shoes are black 3. These shoes are expensive) 5. Defective – the term refers to a lexical item that does not have some of the features/grammatical forms usually shown by members of its class: e.g. the modal verb must has no past tense. 6. Epistemic modality & Deontic modality Consider: A. John may have a car. B. John must be very smart. English Grammar (course) These examples mean at least two different things: A1. Perhaps/probably John has a car. A2. John is permitted to have a car. B1. I conclude that John is smart. B2. John is required to be smart. In A1 and B1 the speaker is not making categorical assertions/facts In A1 and B1 the speaker conveys his subjective view of the world In A1 and B1 the concern is with knowledge and belief = epistemic modality In A2 and B2 the concern is with permission, obligation = deontic modality Epistemic modality – the area of mood concerned with possibility, probability, certainty; it is concerned with knowledge and belief; it is concerned with the speaker’s degree of commitment to what he says. Deontic modality – the area of mood concerned with permission, obligation, prohibition. In the analysis of modal meaning and use, deontic modality is usually contrasted with epistemic modality. - some analysts make a three-way contrast, between deontic, epistemic, and alethic. - other analysts make a three-way contrast, between deontic, epistemic, and dynamic. 7. Alethic modality is concerned with the necessary truth of propositions (Gr. alethes, true), so necessarily and logically true; some people include this meaning in epistemic modality Compare: e.g. 1 If he is an orphan, his parents must have died. (alethic, concerned with logical deduction/truth of proposition) e.g. 2 Mary loved John so much – she must miss him. (epistemic, concerned with belief, knowledge) 8. Dynamic modality - unlike epistemic and deontic modality, dynamic modality is not subjective; it is subject-oriented; the subject’s ability/willingness is central - dynamic modality makes factual statements, e.g. She can read a novel in an evening. MODAL MEANINGS A. 1. must be there already 2. can/could not JOHN 3. will/would 4. may/might 5. could 6. should/ought to English Grammar (course) B. 1. must leave immediately. 2. needn’t 3. should / ought to JOHN 4. shall 5. will 6. may 7. can Ability: can, could, be able to Obligation and necessity: must, have to, must not Absence of obligation: need not, not have to, not need to Possibility and permission: can, could, may, might Advice / recommendation: should, ought to Probability and expectation: should, ought to Prediction: shall, will Logical conclusion: must, cannot Belief: will, would MODAL VERBS (9) - MODALS: central modals - can, may, will, shall, must marginal modals – dare, need, ought to, used to - will/would, can/could, should are the most frequently used modals - CAN 1. ABILITY 2. PERMISSION 3. POSSIBILITY 4. SUGGESTION/ORDER 5. STRONG RECOMMENDATION 6. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 1. ABILITY Can is used to show - ability in general - that someone is in a position to perform an activity - ability in certain circumstances - can versus be able to/be capable of English Grammar (course) Verbs of perception/cognition (see, hear, understand) form a special class because the ability to see/hear/understand and the performance are inseparable: I can remember and I remember. I can’t understand and I do not understand. With verbs of inert perception can loses its modal meaning and it has the additional special function of denoting a state rather than an event. With verbs of this type the simple present tense has only an instantaneous meaning, the main difference between I can hear and I hear/I can see and I see is one of state of perception vs momentary perception. 2. PERMISSION - may versus can. E.g.: You can smoke in this room; You may smoke here. 3. POSSIBILITY E.g. Even expert drivers can make mistakes. John can’t be working at this hour. Lightning can be dangerous. It is not always easy to distinguish can for possibility from can for ability. Tips: can (ability) and can (permission) require a human subject, or at least an animate subject, the possibility sense is the only one available when the subject is inanimate. the possibility meaning occurs in passive clauses. 4. SUGGESTION/ORDER E.g. We can see about it tomorrow; We can do it tomorrow; You can do it tonight. 5. STRONG ADVICE/RECOMMENDATION You can forget about your holiday; You can jump in the lake. 6. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS E.g. Learning English can be dangerous. COULD - in point of past reference expresses: - ability 1. when it means having the skill/knowledge to do something = could 2. when it means being in a position to do smth. = be able to - permission – more polite tone to request for permission - possibility – often interchangeable with may or might It could/might/may rain. - disbelief (extended meaning) about a past event/action: You are wrong. John couldn’t have done that. English Grammar (course) -MAY 1. PERMISSION 2. POSSIBILITY 3. CONCESSIVE USE 4. BENEDICTION/MALEDICTION 1. PERMISSION permission given by the speaker (usually in colloquial English). = general permission (in more formal contexts) In formal contexts may replaces can (which is considered less polite than may). In questions and if-clauses: May I smoke? = Will you allow me to smoke? ≠Will I permit myself to smoke? You may leave, John! = the permission meaning, almost imperative. 2. POSSIBILITY E.g. Be careful, the gun may be loaded. This use of may is common in statements (it does not occur in questions). - spoken versus written discourse: He may leave the room = ambiguous: permission/possibility? – in speech things are clear. - The permission-possibility meanings are close enough to each other to be blurred on occasions; for example, it is easy to confuse them in scientific writing: a. this is what is permitted by the rules of the system b. this is what is possible within the system Statements about language may often show this ambivalence: e.g. Transitive verbs may be active or passive. a. the rules of English permit transitive verbs to be.... b. is it possible that transitive verbs....? - impersonal phrases (It may be noted that....) Q: What is intended here, permission or possibility? These are simply pointers for the reader’s attention. 3. CONCESSIVE USE This is a colloquial use of may (possibility), e.g. He may not be funny, but at least he is a good friend. 4. BENEDICTION/MALEDICTION E.g. May God grant you happiness! English Grammar (course) MIGHT – is the past tense form of may (permission) - indicates possibility - it also indicates suggestion or request - indicates permission in formal requests -MUST 1. OBLIGATION 2. PROHIBITION 3. LOGICAL CONCLUSION 4. NECESSITY 1. OBLIGATION OR COMPULSION (IMPOSED BY THE SPEAKER) Discuss the sentences below: You must be back by ten o’clock (=You are obliged (by me) to...) I must/we must go. (= self-compulsion) Must I answer all these questions? (= Are these your orders?) Must you make all that noise? (sarcastic use) When external factors are involved have to is used. For absence of obligation needn’t is used. 2. PROHIBITION You must not open that window. 3. LOGICAL CONCLUSION He must be working late at the office. You must have left your handbag in the classroom. This use of must normally has no negative or question forms. The opposite form is can’t, as in He can’t be working at this hour. You must be Mr. Jones. (logical inference weaker conclusion) It must have been a shock. You can’t have understood what John said. 4. NECESSITY E.g. A dog must have a master. A derived sense occurs with be to (am to/are to/is to); here, a command or instruction given by the speaker or imposed by the speaker or by an external authority is expressed. Will be to is never used. -WILL 1. WILLINGNESS (WEAK VOLITION) 2. INSISTENCE (STRONG VOLITION) 3. INTENTION (INTERMEDIATE VOLITION) 4. PREDICTABILITY English Grammar (course) 1. WILLINGNESS (WEAK VOLITION) Will you open the door for me? Will you give me a lift? Will you... ? in requests = a polite substitute for an imperative. 2. INSISTENCE (STRONG VOLITION) I will go to the pub, you can’t stop me. 3. INTENTION (INTERMEDIATE VOLITION) We’ll celebrate tonight. 4. PREDICTABILITY That will be my boyfriend. They will have arrived by now. If litmus paper is dipped in acid, it will turn red. A lion will attack a man (it is predictable or characteristic of lions that they attack... ) characteristic behaviour is also the meaning of will in: John will go all day without eating. !!! Consider: Boys will be boys. WOULD - can be seen as the past equivalent of will: Sometimes he would write poems. - used for polite requests (more polite than will) - for hypothetical results (in conditional sentences) !!! I used to have a Ford (*I would have a Ford). !!! (* I used to go to London six times when I was a student) (* I would go to London six times when I was a student) (OK: I went to London six times when I was a student) -SHALL 1. WILLINGNESS 2. INSISTENCE 3. INTENTION 4. PROMISE 1. WILLINGNESS (weak volition) He shall be rewarded if he is patient. → the speaker is conferring a favour English Grammar (course) 2. INSISTENCE (strong volition – on the part of the speaker) You shall obey my orders. No one shall stop me. - a similar use occurs with 2nd and 3rd person subjects – as seen in old texts (The Book of Common Prayer – Thou shalt not kill) 3. INTENTION (intermediate volition – on the part of the speaker) We shall celebrate tonight. - this sense of will does not overlap with the preceding volitional senses – as it occurs exclusively with 1st person subjects - as the examples make clear – shall is interchangeable with will (for intention) 4. PROMISE You shall go to the Zoo. SHOULD - used for advice and recommendation : You should write him an email. - used for expectation or probability He should have passed the exam, MARGINAL MODALS (10) DARE - Dare can be regular verb He does not dare to say that. modal verb How dare you say that? - as a modal this marginal verb is rare; it appears only in questions and negative statements - when used in questions – the meaning is advice Dare I tell her? - in negative statements dare has two extended meanings: 1. admonition/warning/reproach/scolding You dare not tell my mother about it. It would upset her. - statements with dare not that address someone directly are equivalent to admonitions with must not or can not 2. impossibility – in sentences that are not intended as admonitions dare not has the impossibility meaning (it is not possible): I dare not tell my mother about this. It would really upset her. (can not can be used here I cannot tell my mother... ) - the modal dare must be distinguished from: 1. the lexical verb dare (have the courage to) He does not dare (to) hit me. 2. the lexical verb dare (to challenge smb. to do smth.) I dare you try it. - with 1st person I daresay he will come (= it is possible, perhaps). English Grammar (course) NEED - the marginal verb need expresses necessity (the meaning is similar to must) Need I remind you that... ? = Is it necessary (for me) to remind... ? You needn’t tell her. = It is not necessary to... = You don’t have to tell her (AmE) - usually in questions and negative statements - sometimes in affirmative forms (that have negative implications – I hardly need say how much... usually with hardly, never, scarcely) - regular verb: We need to speak to him (the meaning is that of necessity) - in the construction need+ to + infinitive – need is a full/lexical verb: Does he need to... ? We didn’t need to... She needs to rest.... - need as a modal is confined to questions and negative statements - need to is somewhere between must and ought to – it asserts obligation or necessity (it does not express the certainty of must, or the doubt of ought to) - there is a difference in the quality of constraint: for must and ought to the obligation comes from the outside rather than inside: You must shave your beard = meaning: I exert my authority over you; You need to shave...= meaning: your beard is too long, looks untidy, do it for your own sake. - modal need and need to scarcely differ in many cases: Need you say that? = Do you need to say that? - in other contexts, there are differences: A. Mother to son: The knives needn’t be sharpened today, John. B. Mother to son: The knives don’t need to be sharpened today, John. In A – the meaning is ’you are excused the task’, probably there are more important things to do; in B – the meaning is ’the knives do not require attention, we presume they are sharp’. You needn’t have done it. ↔ You didn’t need to do it. (not necessary, but done) ↔ (not necessary, not done) OUGHT TO - a marginal modal verb that conveys the same meaning as should - ought to is confined largely to affirmative statements - its use in questions and negatives is more common in BE than Ae Ought we to tell him about it? (BE) = Should we tell him about it? (AE) - ought to is used for advice, recommendation You ought to (should) help him. - used for obligation (imposed by speaker) You ought to pay for the window. - used for probability (inferred probability) His flight ought to have arrived. - used for reproach (for smth. that was not done) You ought to have helped her. Ought to is a past subjunctive of modesty of owe. You ought to do it = literally means I think you owe the doing of it. English Grammar (course) Modal expressions: - modal idioms (had better, would rather, have got to) - adjectival modal expressions (these involve modal adjectives – possible, probable, likely, certain, necessary); - modal noun phrases (chance, hope, possibility); - modal lexical verbs (forbid, require, insist, suspect). MODALS AND NEGATION The effect of negation on the meaning of sentences containing modals is quite complex. Conceptually, two elements are available for negation: I. the action or state (main verb) II. the modality (modal verb meaning) I. Epistemic modality is knowledge oriented. For some modal verbs in epistemic functions, it is the action that is affected by negation, e.g. a. Tom may come = possible/possibility (Tom come) b. Tom may not come = possible/possibility (Tom NOT come) This pattern [MODALITY – NOT – ACTION] is described as internal negation and indicates that the level of ’what is known’ is not being negated, but the action is, e.g.: a. It will not rain = predict/prediction (NOT rain) b. It should not last = probable/probability (NOT last) II. Deontic modality is socially oriented. For some modal verbs in deontic functions, it is the modality that is affected by negation, e.g.: a. Your friend may leave = permit/permission (your friend leave) b. You may not leave = NOT permit/permission (you leave) This pattern [NOT – MODALITY – ACTION] is described as external negation and indicates that some parts of what is ’socially determined’ can be negated, while the nature of the action stays the same, e.g.: a. He will not help us = NOT willing/willingness (help us) b. He can’t smoke here = NOT permit/permission (smoke here) English Grammar (course) THE ENGLISH VERB (11) VERB: A member of a major word class that is normally essential to clause structure and which inflects and can show contrasts of aspect, number, person, mood, tense, and voice. VERB PATTERNS Verb Pattern Sentence SV (Subject/verb) John left. SVO (Subject/verb/object) John is reading a book. SVC (Subject/verb/complement) John was feeling hungry. SVA (Subject/verb/adverbial) John is on the phone. SVOO (Subject/verb/object/object) I wished him a Merry Christmas. SVOC (Subject/verb/object/complement) His behavior is driving me mad. SVOA (Subject/verb/object/adverbial) John put the book on the shelf. Verb + THAT clause I imagined that you are happy. Verb + object + TO-infinitive I imagined her to be happy. Verb + ING-clause I imagined meeting John in the street. TENSE - A grammatical category that is associated with distinctions of time; the form taken by the verb to indicate the time at which the action or state is viewed as occurring. - English exhibits a minimal tense system: present vs past or past vs non-past - English lacks a distinctive future tense - Traditionally, tense is defined in terms of time, verbs are analyzed in terms of time reference. i.e. past/present/future reference. - Labels such as past, present and future are misleading, since the relationship between the tenses is more complicated than the labels suggest. Past and present tenses can be used in some cases to refer to future time, e.g. If he comes tomorrow/If he came tomorrow … ; present tense can also refer to past time (see the ‘historic present’) ASPECT: A category used in describing how the action of a verb is marked; the term describes the way in which the speaker sees the event; it describes the quality of an event while it is observed by the speaker - Aspect has not to do with the location in time of the event - In English we identify two constructions/aspects: progressive (which stresses the action in progress/or incomplete action) and perfect/perfective (which stresses completed action) - We may combine the two aspects (and thus we obtain four aspectual possibilities): Progressive Non-progressive Perfect has been writing has written Non-perfect is writing writes English Grammar (course) - Traditionally, both aspects are treated as part of the tense system in English, and we speak of tenses such as the present progressive or past perfect progressive (which combines two aspects) However, we have to make a distinction between tense and aspect - Tense is more concerned with past time versus present time and is based on morphological form (write-writes-wrote) - Aspect is concerned with duration, and in English is a matter of syntax, using parts of be to form the progressive, and have to form the perfective PROGRESSIVE: The keywords that are associated with the term progressive are: a. event in progress. b. limited period of time; c. incompleteness. PERFECT: The aspect expressing an action or state accomplished before some stated or implied time. The keyword associated with perfect is ‘beforeness’ or ‘anteriority’. MOOD: A category into which verb forms are classified, indicating whether the verb is expressing fact, command, hypothesis, etc.; it is a grammatical category that has to do with the degree of reality assigned to the event described by the verb. - Traditional grammar recognizes the following moods: the Indicative (denotes facts), Imperative (expresses a command, request), and Subjunctive (expresses hypothesis or non- factuality). VOICE: A grammatical category which provides two different ways (active and passive) of viewing the action of the verb - Active voice: the subject is the actor or ‘doer’ of the verbal action, e.g. Students write assignments on a weekly basis. - Passive voice: the subject is often shown as being ‘passively’ acted upon, e.g. Assignments are handed in by first year students only. TRANSITIVE: Of a verb, that takes a direct object (to complete its meaning). Some verbs are always transitive, others are always intransitive (come, arrive); many verbs can be both. - Even verbs that seem to be strongly transitive (e.g. play, They are playing soccer.) can have intransitive uses (They've been playing all afternoon), and similarly an intransitive verbs can be used transitively (e.g. live: John lives in London – John lived a good life) - Transitive verbs can be grammatically divided into three main classes: - monotransitive (taking one direct object) John bought a book. (SVO) - ditransitive (indirect object + direct object) I bought her a new car. (SVOO) English Grammar (course) - complex transitive (object + complement or adverbial) John found the story interesting. (SVOC) John put the book on the shelf. (SVOA) INTRANSITIVE: Of a verb, not taking a direct object. Intransitive verbs can become transitive: 1. if it has an internal complement, e.g. John was laughing (I) – John was laughing a happy laugh (T), and if it is followed by a reflexive pronoun, e.g. Do as you please (I) – Please yourself! (T). VERB PHRASE: The term denotes a phrase which functions in the same way as a single-word verb on its own. In a finite verb phrase (VP) the first word is in fact the only word that is finite and indicates tense. The last word (in both finite and non-finite verb phrases) is the lexical verb. If a finite verb phrase consists of a single word, lexical word and tense are combined. SENTENCE ------------------------NP + VP VP -----------------------------------AUX + VB AUX (Auxiliary) – three elements are distinguished: MODAL TENSE ASPECT MODAL: can, may, must, shall, will TENSE: present/past ASPECT: (have/participle) (be/-ing) VP ------- [MODAL] [PRESENT/PAST] [(HAVE/PARTICIPLE) (BE/-ING)] + VB Had written VP -------- [past] [have/participle] + VB Could have been writing VP ---- [modal] [past] [(have/participle) (be/-ing)] + VB Can be reading VP --------- [modal] [present] [be/-ing] + VB -EN FORM A way of referring to the past participle of any verb. The name is based on the fact that many irregular verbs take this ending in their past participle (take, break, drive), but includes all participle (gone, kept, looked, sat, sung) -ED FORM: A way of referring either to: 1. the past tense form of any verb (regular/irregular) or 2. the past tense and past participle form of a verb MAIN VERB: A verb functioning as the head of a verb phrase; a verb which is not an auxiliary. The term lexical verb is sometimes used. AUXILIARY VERB A verb used in forming tenses, moods, and voices of other verbs. In older grammar is called helping verb. The verbs used for this purpose in English include: be, do, have, and the modal verbs (aka modal auxiliaries). Auxiliary verbs may also occur as main verbs. English Grammar (course) LINKING VERB: Also called copular verb/copulative/copula. It links a subject to a subject complement, e.g. John is a teacher. The most common linking verb is be; other linking verbs: look, seem, feel, taste, get, grow, turn. STATE VERB: A verb whose meaning expresses a state rather than an event, e.g. live, own, have - John has lived here for ten years; John owns his own house; It has five rooms. Other state verbs: know, like, want, understand. ACTION/EVENT VERB A verb whose meaning expresses an action/event rather than a state. CAUSATIVE VERB A verb expressing causation, e.g. the verb kill is a causative verb, meaning cause to die. Other causatives includes verbs such as place, put (cause something to be in a place), get, have (e.g. Get your hair cut; I had my hair cut). FINITE Having tense; the form of the verb which varies for present/past. Verbs and verb phrases having tense, and clauses and sentences containing them, can be described as finite. Although we talk of finite verb phrases, it is in fact only the first word of a verb phrase that is finite, e.g. We have been wondering. NON-FINITE A verb form without tense. We can identify three non-finite forms: 1. infinitive, 2. –ing forms, and 3. –en form CLASSES OF VERBS WITH THE PROGRESSIVE ASPECT As shown above, the progressive aspect (PA) indicates actions/activities in progress; limited duration; incompleteness - Classes of verbs with the Progressive Aspect: a. the class of momentary verbs, e.g. hit, jump, kick, knock b. the class of transitional event verbs, e.g. arrive, die, fall, leave, lose, stop c. the class of activity verbs, e.g. read, write, eat, drink, play, work d. the class of process verbs, e.g. change, grow, widen, deteriorate - The following classes are incompatible with the Progressive Aspect: e. the class of verbs of inert perception (senseless, unresponsive, passive), e.g. feel, hear, see, smell, taste (see as opposed to look at/stare at) I saw a man. I could see a man. *I was seeing a man. English Grammar (course) I could see a man = a state ↔ I saw a man = an event f. the class of verbs of inert cognition, e.g. believe, know, imagine, forget, suppose, understand I believe John is a nice person. *I am believing John is a nice person. g. the class of verbs of ‘having’ and ‘being’, e.g. be, have, own, contain, consist of, belong to This book belongs to John. *This book is belonging to John. But: What are you doing? We are having fun. h. the class of verbs of physical sensation (they can occur with/without the PA), e.g. hurt, ache, itch, feel I feel hungry. I am feeling hungry. Some obvious exceptions * Verbs in class E (inert perception) - they can show active perception not only perception, e.g. I smell the perfume. I can smell the perfume. = perception; I am smelling the perfume = active perception - see and hear are not used in an active sense (we have, look at, listen to) - I am hearing you = OK (said by a radio operator = I am receiving message)