Grammar for A-level English Language

Dick Hudson St Francis Xavier College, June 2008

Plan
An animated description of basic sentence structure
with some notation

A collection of interesting variations

with some terminology

A grammatical treasure hunt

in seven extracts
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The extracts
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Grammar joke The Owl and the Pussycat Oliver Twist Directgov: vehicle taxation A grammarian's funeral (Browning) The Sun: Blues warned off Kaka move Northern Ireland Transcribed Corpus of Speech
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dependents Basic verb sentence structure

Has a tense

make made verb

dependents
predicative parents noun happy word O P
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subject babies noun S T

object

Hunt for
A verb with just one word as its subject and no O or P or other dependent.
1: He arrives, and,

A sentence containing the verb BE three times, with adjective or place adverb as P.
6: But signing Kaka is impossible, because he is here at AC Milan and will be here until the end of his career.
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Modifying a verb
make verb S O parents noun adverb often P word happy with preposition

noun babies

noun smiles
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Hunt for
A verb modified by a monosyllabic adverb standing immediately before it.
4: Vehicles that are exempt from vehicle tax still need to display a tax disc.

A verb with S, O and a following modifier, each of which is just one word.
2: So they took it away, and were married next day
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Modifying a noun
make verb S O P parents noun word happy

noun babies
adjective healthy

preposition with
the normal range of baby behaviour such as ..
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One alternative notation

S P O

Healthy babies with normal behaviour make parents happy.

and another

S P O

Healthy babies with normal behaviour make parents happy. noun phrase

clause

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and another

Healthy babies with normal behaviour make parents happy.

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Phrases and clauses

A phrase is a group of words that depend on one word. That word is the phrases head.
The phrase can be classified according to its head
e.g. noun phrase, preposition phrase

A phrase headed by a verb is called a clause.

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Hunt for
no + adj + noun + preposition + the + noun
3: which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader

Nouns contrasted only by their preceding adjectives and by this/that.

5: That low man seeks a little thing to do, / Sees it and does it:/ This high man, with a great thing to pursue, / Dies ere he knows it. (x 2)

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Predicatives
make verb S O P parents noun

noun babies

happy
adults

adjective
noun

into adults
cry

preposition
verb

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Hunt for
Predicative = a noun modified by a preposition
3: it remained a matter of considerable doubt

Predicative = a noun modified by an adjective

4: If youre a disabled person,

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Verb chains
seem S P to have S P been P trying

We

P to start
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Hunt for
A chain of three verbs: verb + not + verb + verb
6: Kaka will not be heading to Stamford Bridge

A chain of three verbs where the third verb does not have the same subject as the others
7: I know I've heard tell,
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Six interesting variants

Subject-auxiliary inversion Auxiliary contraction Topicalisation Subject delay Postposing Extraposition
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Subject-auxiliary inversion
is S He

he

ready.

Verbs like is:

But NOT:

BE, HAVE, WILL, CAN, DO, .. GET, BECOME, TRY,

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Why put aux first?

Because it could be negative:
He isnt is ready. Isnt he ready? Is

So we focus on truth.
Is he ready? = Is it true that hes ready?

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Hunt for
inverted aux + S = if
5: That, has the world here should he need the next,/ Let the world mind him!

ungrammatical inverted non-aux + S

So, with the throttling hands of death at strife,/ Ground he at grammar;

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Auxiliary contraction
is s
S P

It
Contractable:

mine.
Most finite (past/present) auxiliaries

Purpose: to show lack of formality.

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How casual?
A matter of degree, not all or none. We can contract some contractable auxiliaries without contracting all of them. Project: count contracted auxiliaries
as percentage of all contractables. very good for practicing grammatical analysis!

Contraction is an issue in students own writing.

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Hunt for
A text where all contractable auxils are contracted
5: hundreds |heres |heres|heres

A text where some auxils are contracted and some arent.

1: he cant | cabbie is | I have |jokeologists have 4: that are |disk is |that will |youre |footways will 6: Milan have |Scolari is |Phil has| Kaka will not | Its |Kaka is | he is

A contracted auxiliary with an object

7: he hadnt even a bicycle
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Topicalisation
rained
S

It

yesterday

topic

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Hunt for
A verb that has two topics
2: And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, They danced by the light of the moon

A topic 29 words long

3: Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is
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Negative topics and subj-aux inv

So do I. No way am I going to Not only did he Only once did he At no point did he

formality
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Hunt for
so + inverted aux + S
7: the North Sea's bound to come to an end, sooner or later, and so's the Arab places

negative topic + inverted aux + S

1: but never once have I heard it asked for

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Place topic and subject delay

sailed
S ait neat little into yacht the harbour

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Hunt for
A simple adverb + subject delay
5: heres the platform, heres the proper place heres the top-peak

A prepositional phrase + subject delay

3: in this workhouse was born; on a day and date which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events; the item of mortality
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Subject delay and formality

Here comes your bus. There are my gloves. In the corner is an old oak tree. In the corner stands an old oak tree. From this observation arises another concern.

formality
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Postposing
put
S We O a bag it into the box

of jewels that we had found up the chimney

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Hunt for
A postposed O following a preposition phrase
2: 'Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling / Your ring?'

A postposed O following a simple adverb

1: you have brought home the punchline

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Extraposition from a noun

arrived S a letter

from the bank

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Hunt for
An extraposed preposition phrase
2: a Piggy-wig stood / With a ring at the end of his nose

An extraposed relative clause that

4: A free tax disc is issued that will need to be renewed each year.

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Extraposition with it
surprises S that he came It so late O me

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Hunt for
Three examples of an extraposed clause after it
3: which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning 3: it remained a matter of considerable doubt whether the child would survive 3: it is somewhat more than probable that these memoirs would never have appeared
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Why deviate?
Focus on finiteness and truth
subject-auxiliary inversion

Put topic early, because its already in the hearers mind.

topicalisation

Put heavy material late, to give the hearer time to process it.
subject delay, postposing, extraposition
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Thank you
This slideshow is available at:
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/talks.htm#alel For more on grammar in teaching:
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/education.htm#strategy

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