Transcript 1. I know an old lady who swallowed a fly

IA901 2012 Session Seven
Clauses and sentences
Increasingly complex language
via the medium of cake
The four main communicative roles of clauses:
Imperative
Eat!
Eat cake!
Exclamatory
Cake!
Interrogative
Cake?
Declarative
It’s a piece of cake.
The girl eats cake.
The girl does not eat cake.
cake
We can build up the noun phrases with
adjectives:
The girl eats cake.
In 60 seconds, how many adjectives can
you add to this clause?
We can build up the noun phrases with
adjectives:
The girl eats cake.
The Japanese girl eats chocolate cake.
The lovely intelligent friendly hungry 24year-old Japanese girl eats delicious
gooey hazelnut-encrusted chocolate
cake.
or with prepositions:
The girl eats cakes of all varieties.
And note the issue of countability that
pervades all NOUN PHRASES in English:
What’s the difference between cake and a cake?
I’m going to enter a cake-eating competition. Do humans need competition?
TENSE allows us to express ideas of
remoteness (not just in terms of time)
Did you eat the cake?
I ate the cake.
If I were you, I’d eat it quickly.
ASPECT allows us to give a
perspective on the verb in relation to
whether it is completed or in
progress:
She is eating the cake.
She has eaten the cake.
She has been eating the cake.
Awareness of LEXICAL ASPECT involves considering whether the
meaning of a particular verb affects whether or not it can be
used in PASSIVE, PERFECT, or PROGRESSIVE STRUCTURES:
*The best cakes are containing lots of sugar!
MOOD allows the speaker or writer to
add a personal “filter” to express a
judgement of:
ABILITY
I can eat three cakes in two minutes.
I can’t eat any more cake.
PERMISSION
May I eat the cake?
You can eat the cake.
She can’t have any more cake.
OBLIGATION
You should eat more cake.
I must eat that cake!
You must not eat my cake!
VOLITION
I will eat the cake.
I won’t eat your cake.
LIKELIKHOOD
I might eat the cake.
She must have eaten my cake!
THE PASSIVE VOICE allows us to
place emphasis on a non-agentive
subject:
The cake has been eaten.
MAIN CLAUSES
She eats cake.
The Japanese girl is eating
chocolate cake in class again.
The Japanese girl has eaten all the
chocolate cake.
She ate the cake and then she
asked for more.
She ate the cake but she didn’t
enjoy it.
More problematically, perhaps, we also have EMBEDDED CLAUSES
ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
She ate the cake yesterday.
She ate the cake in three minutes.
She ate the cake hungrily.
She ate the cake quickly because she thought someone might
steal it.
She was eating cake when the police arrived.
She ate the cake while I was washing the dishes.
If you make a cake, I’ll eat it.
If you made a cake, I would eat it.
When you make cakes, I eat them.
If you had made a cake I would have eaten it.
If you hadn’t eaten the cake last night I could be eating it now.
If I knew you were coming I’d have baked a cake.
ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Yesterday she ate the cake.
I n three minutes, she ate the cake.
Hungrily, she ate the cake.
Because she thought someone might steal it, she ate the cake
quickly.
When the police arrived, she was eating cake.
While I was washing the dishes, she ate the cake.
I’ll eat a cake if you make one.
I would eat a cake if you made one.
I eat cakes when you make them.
I would have eaten a cake if you had made one.
I could be eating the cake now If you hadn’t eaten it last night.
I’d have baked a cake if you I knew you were coming.
A break from cake:
Types of adverbial
OK. Back to the cakes…
COMPLEMENT CLAUSES
A cake is what I really want.
A cake is what I really need.
The cake is why I go to weddings.
How she makes those cakes is a mystery.
RELATIVE CLAUSES
She ate the cake that I made.
She ate the cake I bought.
She ate the cake that was bought for my birthday.
She at the cake bought for my birthday.
Several cakes were eaten by the girl who recently had her hair cut.
Until now, every clause we’ve seen has been a FINITE CLAUSE with a
FINITE VERB
NON-FINITE CLAUSES
INFINTIVE CLAUSES
I eat cake to cheer myself up.
I eat cake to take away the pain.
PARTICIPLE CLAUSES
-ING FORMS (ADVERBIAL)
I eat cake lying in the bath.
I eat cake driving to work.
Driving to work this morning I ate three cakes.
-EN/-ED FORMS (ADJECTIVAL)
Confused by all of these sentences, I am going to eat a nice big cake
to cheer myself up.
Review of preparatory task
GRAMMATICAL HIERARCHY
SENTENCES contain one or more
CLAUSES, which contain one or more
PHRASES, which contain one or more
WORDS, which contain one or more
MORPHEMES
If only life was so simple…
Compare your answers to the PREPARATORY TASK with
at least one other person.
1. I know an old lady who swallowed a fly
S V
O
RELATIVE CLAUSE
Embedded in the NP, which is the OBJECT of the CLAUSE
Post-modification of the HEAD
Issues for learners:
Defining – as opposed to non-defining
I know an old lady, who swallowed a fly.
I know an old lady, which is interesting.
Relative pronoun
*I know an old lady which swallowed a fly
*I know an old lady swallowed a fly
I know an old lady that swallowed a fly
English doesn’t employ resumptive pronouns:
*I know an old lady who she swallowed a fly.
2. I don't know why she swallowed the fly
S
V
O
3. I don't know how she swallowed the cow
S
V
O
NOMINAL/ WH-NOUN CLAUSE
OBJECT of the CLAUSE
Embeds a CLAUSE within a CLAUSE
ADVERBIAL function
Issues for learners:
Distinction between NOMINAL and RELATIVE CLAUSES
Distinction between NOMINAL CLAUSES and QUESTIONS
S V
O
4. I know an old lady who swallowed a spider that wriggled and jiggled and
tickled inside her
RELATIVE CLAUSE
Embedded in the NP, which is the OBJECT of a RELATIVE CLAUSE
Post-modification of the HEAD
Includes COORDINATION
Includes the PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE “inside her” (with an ADJUNCT /
ADVERBIAL function)
5. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly
S
V
O
A
NON-FINITE CLAUSE
TO- INFINITIVE CLAUSE / INFINITIVE CLAUSE / INFINITIVE OF PURPOSE
ADJUNCT function
Issues for learners:
NON-FINITE means that “to catch” does not show tense
Position in sentence:
To catch the fly she swallowed the spider.
6.How absurd
exclamatory
Issues for learners:
No subject or verb! Although we could produce How absurd it is.
HOW can be used with an ADJECTIVE / CLAUSE
WHAT can be used with a NOUN PHRASE
Distinction between exclamatory and INTERROGATIVE ROLE OF CLAUSE:
INTERROGATIVE: How tall are you? (C V S)
EXCLAMATORY: How tall you are! (C S V)
7. Imagine that
Has the form of an IMPERATIVE CLAUSE…
…but has an exclamatory FUNCTION
Issues for learners:
Appropriacy of use : imperatives can be considered impolite
Exclamations are usually informal, but imperatives could be found in
formal contexts
Range of functions : can give orders, make requests, and invitations
8. She's dead of course!
S V C
A
ADVERB PHRASE
ADJUNCT / ADVERBIAL function
Issues for learners:
Position in sentence and effect on meaning:
Of course she’s dead.
She of course is dead.
She is of course dead.
9.This is the farmer sowing his corn
S
V C
A
NON-FINITE –ING CLAUSE / PARTICIPLE CLAUSE
ADJUCT / ADVERBIAL function
10.That waked the priest all shaven and shorn
NON-FINITE –EN / -ED CLAUSE / PARTICIPLE CLAUSE
ADJECTIVAL function
Issues for learners:
Difference between NON-FINITE CLAUSES and REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES
This is the farmer sowing his corn v This is the farmer who is sowing his corn.
the priest all shaven and shorn v the priest who is all shaven and shorn
This is the farmer sowing his corn
that kept the cock that crowed in the morn
that waked the priest all shaven and shorn
that married the man all tattered and torn
that kissed the maiden all forlorn
that milked the cow with the crumpled horn
that tossed the dog that worried the cat
that killed the rat that ate the malt
that lay in the house that Jack built!
Fabb (2005) presents the final verse of “The House That Jack Built”
as an example of RECURISON, where a clause is embedded within a
noun phrase, which is itself part of a clause inside a noun phrase and
so on. RECURSION opens up the possibility of never-ending
sentences, however unwelcome they may be to a reader!
GRAMMATICAL HIERARCHY
SENTENCES contain one or more
CLAUSES, which contain one or more
PHRASES, which contain one or more
WORDS, which contain one or more
MORPHEMES
BUT this isn’t true in the house that Jack built!
DISCUSSION
Which of the features of “sentence structure” we have discussed are covered
by the teaching materials you are familiar with?
Is the term CLAUSE used in teaching materials you are familiar with? Do you
think it is a helpful term for the learner?
Clauses
Clauses in English : True or false?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Subjects always precede the verb in English clauses
Subjects are always NOUN PHRASES
Subjects agree with the VERB PHRASE
Subjects refer to the “doer” of the action
Objects are always NOUN PHRASES
What about:
1. Here comes the bus; Leave me alone!
2.Gently does it!
3.The Japanese women’s football team is / are the best in the world; The judge
recommended that the defendant be imprisoned for a minimum of 10 years.
4.I was arrested for handling stolen goods.
5.I don’t know why she swallowed a fly.
What is a clause?
FUNCTIONS :
Can be sentences “in their own right”
Can be components in sentences as subjects, objects, adjuncts /
adverbials.
FORMS:
MAIN CLAUSE: Declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory
SUBORDINATE / EMBEDDED: Adverbial, Complement, Relative, Non-finite
Sentences
Sentences
Traditional classification of sentences:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Simple
Compound
Complex
Compound-complex sentence
What do you understand by such classification?
What are the limits of classifying sentences in this way?
Are these sentences?
1. Sort of.
2. And then?
3. Thank you very much.
4. That sort of thing, yes.
5. Oh I reckon they're lovely. I really do whippets. (from
Carter & McCarthy, cited in Leech, 1998)
Utility of describing sentences
Are these sentences?
1. Sort of.
2. And then?
3. Thank you very much.
4. That sort of thing, yes.
5. Oh I reckon they're lovely. I really do whippets. (from
Carter & McCarthy, cited in Leech, 1998)
Leech (in Culpepper et al, 2009):
-the sentence is not a particularly useful unit to focus on.
-Spoken English can make sense without “grammatical” sentence
structures
-much language cannot be classified in terms of sentence types
(fancy that!).
Leech proposes instead that CLAUSES and PHRASES are more
worthy of analysis
Alternative approaches
Willis (2003)
Computers
enable scientists to
carry out
complex calculations at high speed.
He asked me to tell Jean that he wanted
to know if she was free on Monday.
“The basic structure of the clause is N + V + ?”
What follows the verb depends on the verb and its meaning, not “abstract grammatical
considerations”
•All clauses have a subject
•The first noun is the subject
Circumstances / circumstantial elements can be added, but their position depends on
intended meaning.
Willis (2003: 73)
Police were searching
for an eight-year-old boy.
Where does “last night?” fit into this sentence?
•Last night police were searching for an eight-year-old boy.
•Police were last night searching for an eight-year-old boy.
•Police were searching last night for an eight-year-old boy.
•Police were searching for an eight-year-old boy last night.
Tape-recorded squawks of a seagull in distress have enabled
water authorities in Strathclyde to cleanse two reservoirs at
Milngavie, near Glasgow, by frightening away an estimated 5000
seagulls.
To Willis, complexity lies in the complexity of the noun phrases
(and the fact that it is common to find structures embedded
within other structures)
Tape-recorded squawks of a seagull in distress
have enabled
water authorities in Strathclyde to cleanse
two reservoirs at Milngavie, near Glasgow,
by frightening away
an estimated 5000 seagulls.
Hoey (2005) takes the opening sentence from a Bill Bryson travel book:
In winter Hammerfest is a thirty-hour ride by bus from Oslo, though why
anyone would want to go there in winter is a question worth considering.
and compares it to:
Through winter, rides between Oslo and Hammerfest use thirty hours up in a
bus, though why travellers would select to ride there then might be pondered.
The explanation is provided by attention to COLLOCATION and COLLIGATION.
For example, Hoey’s corpus tells him that:
•59% of uses of IN WINTER relate to a clause whose verb is PRESENT SIMPLE
•54% of uses of IN THE WINTER relate to a clause whose verb is PAST SIMPLE
•IN WINTER is more likely to occur with “relational process verbs” than
“material process verbs”
What do you already know about the University of Essex? Make
notes on your answers to the following questions:
Where is Essex university? How many campuses are there?
How old is it?
How many students are there? (who are they?)
Is the university famous for anything?
Is it a good university?
Do you know any interesting 'facts' about the university?
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY :
PATTERNS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Students from families with incomes
of up to £25,000 will be entitled to a
more generous student maintenance
grant of up to £3,250, which is nonrepayable.
Task
Email me examples of two or three complex sentences – the more
difficult the better!
It’s a good idea to choose any sentences that have caused you
difficulty in your reading for this course. They can be from your own
writing if you like.