Overview of English Syntax

4/20/2015 ASHORTOVERVIEWOFENGLISHSYNTAX

http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/grammar/overview.html 1/19

ASHORTOVERVIEWOFENGLISHSYNTAXBasedonTheCambridgeGrammaroftheEnglishLanguageRodneyHuddlestonTheUniversityofQueenslandThis paper presents a brief account of English syntax based on The Cambridge Grammar of the EnglishLanguage,[1]providinganoverviewofthemainconstructionsandcategoriesinthelanguage.Thepresentversionis intended primarily for members of the English Teachers' Association of Queensland (ETAQ), offering analternativeapproachtothatpresentedinthe2007volumeoftheirjournalWords`WorthbyLenoreFergusonunderthetitle`GrammarattheCoalface'inparticularthearticles`Thestructuralbasics'(March2007)and`Functionalelementsinaclause'(June2007).ImakeuseofconceptsdiscussedinmyownWords'Worthpaper`Aspectsofgrammar: functions, complements and inflection' (March 2008), and take over Functional Grammar's usefulconventionofdistinguishingbetweenfunctionsandclassesbyusingan initialcapital letter for the former: thusSubjectisthenameofafunction,nounphrasethenameofaclass.1SENTENCEANDCLAUSEWedistinguishtwomaintypesofsentence:aclausalsentence,whichhastheformofasingleclause,andacompoundsentence,whichhastheformoftwoormorecoordinatedclauses,usuallyjoinedbyacoordinator(suchasand,or,but):[1]iSuewenttoLondonlastweek.[clausalsentence]

iiSuewenttoLondonlastweekandherfatherwentwithher.[compoundsentence]NotethatsuchanexampleasWestayedatthehotelwhichyourecommendedisalsoaclausalsentenceeventhoughitcontainstwoclauses.Thisisbecauseoneclause,whichyourecommended,ispartoftheother,ratherthanseparatefromit(morespecifically,thewhichyourecommended ispartofthenounphrasethehotelwhichyourecommended) the larger clause is thusWestayedat thehotelwhich you recommended, and this doesconstitutethewholesentence,likethatin[i].

The fact that the two types of sentence are distinguished in terms of clauses implies thatwe take theclause to be amore basic unit than the sentence,which reflects the fact that in speech it tends to bemoredifficult todeterminetheboundariesbetweensentencesthantheboundariesbetweenclauses.Formostofthisoverviewwewillfocusonclauses:wereturntocoordinationinSection14.2CANONICALANDNONCANONICALCLAUSESWe can describe the structure of clauses most economically if we distinguish between the most basic andelementarykindsofclause,whichwecallcanonicalclauses,andtherest.Theideaisthatwecanpresenttheanalysismoreclearlyifwebeginwithcanonicalclauses,describingthemdirectly,andthendealinturnwiththevarious kinds of noncanonical clause, describing these indirectly, in terms of how they differ from canonicalclauses.

Thefollowingpairedexampleswillgivesomeideaofwhatisinvolvedinthisdistinction:

[2]CanonicalNoncanonicalia.Shehasreadyourarticle.b.Shehasn'treadyourarticle.iia.Sueiscomingfordinner.b.IsSuecomingfordinner?iiia.Theyknewthevictim.b.Shesaidthattheyknewthevictim.iva.Hemissedthetrain.b.Eitherhemissedthetrainoritislate.va.Thesecretarytookthekey.b.Thekeywastakenbythesecretary.

Theseillustratethefollowingpropertiesofcanonicalclauses:oTheyarepositivenegativeclauseslike[ib]arenoncanonical.o They are declarative interrogatives like [iib] are noncanonical, as are the other clause types:

imperatives(e.g.Pleasestandup)andexclamatives(WhatafoolI'vebeen).oTheyaremainclausestheunderlinedclausein[iiib]issubordinateandhencenoncanonical.oTheyarenoncoordinatethetwounderlinedclausesin[ivb]arecoordinatedandhenceeachofthemis

noncanonical.oTheyareactivepassiveclauseslike[vb]arenoncanonical.Thisisamatterofinformationpackagingand

we can say,more generally, that canonical clauses package the information in the grammaticallymostbasicway.ThusIhavenowreadmostofthemiscanonicalbutMostofthemIhavenowreadisnot.

Therearetwofurtherpointsthatshouldbemadeatthispoint.



(a)Inalltheaboveexamplesthenoncanonicalclausesdifferintheirstructurefromcanonicalclauses,butthisisnotalwaysso.In[iiib]thesubordinateclauseisintroducedbythatbutwecouldomitthis,givingShesaid theyknewthevictim,wheretheunderlinedclauseisidenticalwith[iiia]neverthelessitisstillsubordinateandhencenoncanonical. It issubordinatebyvirtueofbeingComplementof theverbsaid,but thesubordinationhappensnottobemarkedintheinternalgrammaticalstructureoftheclauseitself.(b)Aclauseisnoncanonicalifitlacksatleastoneoftheaboveproperties.Itmayofcourselackmorethanoneof them. Thus Wasn't the key taken by the secretary? has three noncanonical properties: it is negative,interrogative and passive. In the discussion below we will take the noncanonical properties in turn with theunderstandingthattheycancombine.3INITIALLISTINGOFTHEPARTSOFSPEECHWedistinguishnineprimarywordclasses,orpartsof speech, touse the traditional term. In thisoverviewweneedn'tworryabout interjections (wow,ah,hello, and the like), which leaves uswith eight classes. They arenamedandexemplifiedin[3]:[3]iVerbHeisill.Sheleftearly.Wewanttohelp.

iiNounThedogbarked.Suewoneasily.Iloveyou.iiiAdjectiveHe'sveryyoung.I'vegotasoreknee.Itlookseasy.ivAdverbShespokeclearly.You'reextremelyfit.HeworksveryhardvDeterminativeThedogbarked.I'vegotasoreknee.Weneedsomemilk.viPrepositionHe'sinthegarden.It'sfromyouruncle.WewenttoParis.viiCoordinatorWesawKimandPat.Hurryorwe'llbelate.It'scheapbutgood.viiiSubordinatorIknowthatit'strue.Askwhetherit'strue.Iwonderifit'strue.

Notethatweuse`determinative'asthenameofaclassand`Determiner'asthenameofafunction[2]weneedto invoketheclassvsfunctiondistinctionheretocater for theconstruction illustrated in thedoctor'scar. Herethe doctor's has the same function, Determiner, as the in the car, but it is not a word and hence not adeterminative:asfarasitsclassisconcernedit'sanounphrase.

Theaboveschemediffersfromthatoftraditionalgrammarinthreerespects:oWetakepronounstobeasubclassofnouns,notadistinctprimaryclass.o Traditional grammars generally take our determinatives to be a subclass of adjectives, though some

recogniseaclassofarticlesconsistingoftheanda.Ourdeterminativeclassismuchlarger,containingnotjusttheanda,butalsowordslikesome,any,all,each,every,no,etc.theseareverydifferentfromwordslikethoseunderlinedin[iii].

o We have coordinator and subordinator as distinct primary classes,whereas traditional grammar has aprimaryclassofconjunctionssubdividedintocoordinatingandsubordinatingconjunctions.

4PHRASESForeachofthefirstsixofthewordclassesin[3]thereisacorrespondingclassofphraseswhoseHeadbelongstothatclass.Inthefollowingexamples,thephraseisenclosedinbracketsandtheHeadunderlined:[4]iVerbphraseShe[wrotesomeletters].He[isstillinLondon].

iiNounphrase[Thenewlodger]ishere.[Theboss]wantstosee[you].iiiAdjectivephraseIt'sgetting[ratherlate].I'm[gladyoucouldcome].ivAdverbphraseIspoke[toosoon].It's[quiteextraordinarily]good.vDeterminativephraseIsaw[almostevery]card.We've[verylittle]moneyleft.viPrepositionphraseThey're[inthegarden].Hewroteabook[onsharks].

5THESTRUCTUREOFCANONICALCLAUSES5.1SubjectandPredicateAcanonicalclauseconsistsofaSubjectfollowedbyaPredicate.ThePredicateisrealisedbyaverbphrasetheSubjectismostlyrealisedbyanounphrase,butthereareotherpossibilitiestoo,mostimportantlyasubordinateclause:[5]SubjectPredicate

iOneofhisfriends|calledadoctor.[nounphraseasSubject]iiThathewaslying|wasobvious.[subordinateclauseasSubject]

IncanonicalclausesdescribinganactiontheSubjectwillbeassociatedwiththesemanticroleofactor,oragent,as in [5i].Butmany clausesdon't expressactions:weheardanexplosion, for example, describes a sensoryexperience,andheretheSubject isassociatedwiththeroleofexperiencer.TherearenumerousdifferentkindsofsemanticrolethatcanbeassociatedwiththeSubject:whattheroleisinaparticularinstancewilldependon



themeaningoftheclause,especiallyoftheverb.Meaningthereforedoesnotprovideareliablewayof identifyingtheSubject.Butthisfunctionhasagood

fewdistinctivegrammaticalpropertieswhichtogethergenerallymakeiteasytoidentify.Herearesomeofthem.(a)Position.ItsdefaultpositiontheoneitoccupiesunlesstherearespecialreasonsforplacingitelsewhereisbeforethePredicate.(b)Formationof interrogatives.Youcangenerallychangeadeclarativeclause intoan interrogativeby invertingtheSubjectwiththefirstauxiliaryverbifthereisnoauxiliaryinthedeclarativeyouneedtoinserttheappropriateformofdo.[3]IneithercasetheSubjectendsupfollowingtheauxiliaryverb:

[6]DeclarativeInterrogativeia.Thebossisinheroffice.b.Isthebossinheroffice?iia.Everyonesignedthepetition.b.Dideveryonesignthepetition?

(c) Interrogativetags. To seek confirmation of a statement you can add an interrogative tag, consisting of anauxiliaryverbandapersonalpronounSubjectwhichrelatesbacktotheSubjectoftheclausetowhichthetagisattached:Thebossisinheroffice,isn'tshe?Everyonesignedthepetition,didn'tthey?(d)Subjectverbagreement,Where the verb has personnumber properties (in the present tense and the pasttenseofbe),theyarenormallydeterminedbyagreementwiththeSubject:[7]a.Hersonplaysthepiano.b.Hersonsplaythepiano.5.2Predicator,ComplementsandAdjunctsAtthenext layerofstructurebelowthePredicatewedistinguishthreefunctions.ThePredicator is thefunctionfilledbytheverb.TheverbistheHeadoftheverbphrase,andPredicatoristhespecialtermusedfortheHeadoftheverbphraseformingthePredicateofaclause.Thusin[7b]playthepianoisaverbphrasefunctioningasPredicatewhileplayisaverbfunctioningasPredicator.

Complement and Adjunct are different kinds of Dependent, distinguished by the licensing condition.Complements can occur only if they are licensedby theHead verb: the verbmust belong to a subclass thatpermits(orrequires)aComplementofthetypeinquestion.Adjunctsarenotsubjecttothisrestriction.Compare:[8]Imowedthelawnbeforeitstartedtorain.Herethelawnisadmissiblebecausetheverbmow(unlikedisappear, forexample)allowsaDependentof thiskind,sothelawnisaComplement.ButaDependentindicatingtimecanoccurwithanyverb,sobeforeitstartedtorainisanAdjunct.

Wewill lookfurtheratComplementsinthenextsubsection.AsforAdjuncts,theyareusuallyrealisedbyadverbphrases,prepositionphrases,subordinateclauses,oraverynarrowrangeofnounphrases.Theycanbedividedintovarioussemanticsubtypes,suchasAdjunctsoftime,place,manner,etc.,asillustratedin[9]:[9]iShespokeveryclearly.[adverbphraseasAdjunctofmanner]

iiAsaresultofhisaction,hewasfired.[prepphraseasAdjunctofreason]iiiWecycletoworktosavethebusfare.[subordinateclauseasAdjunctofpurpose]ivTheyleftthecountrylastweek.[nounphraseasAdjunctoftime]

5.3ObjectandPredicativeComplementTwoimportantsubtypesofComplementaretheObjectandthePredicativeComplement:[10]a.Object:Edblamedtheminister.b.PredicativeComp:Edwasaminister..WhilethousandsofverbslicenseanObject,onlyafairlysmallnumberlicenseaPredicativeComplement,andofthesebeisbyfarthemostcommon:othersincludebecome,remain,appear,seem,etc.Theterm`PredicativeComplement'ismosteasilyunderstoodbyreferencetotheconstructionwithbe:theverbhaslittlemeaninghere(it isoftencalled justa `linkingverb'),so that themainsemanticcontentof thePredicate isexpressedby theComplement.

ThereareseveralgrammaticalpropertiesthatdistinguishObjectsfromPredicativeComplements,ofwhichthetwomostimportantonesareillustratedin[11]:

[11]ia.Edblamedtheminister.[Object]b.TheministerwasblamedbyEd.iia.Edwasaminister.[PredComp]b.*AministerwasbeenbyEd.iiia.Edwasinnocent.[PredComp]b.*Edblamedinnocent.



oTheObjectofanactiveclausecanusuallybecometheSubjectofacorrespondingpassiveclause,buta

PredicativeComplementnevercan.Thus theObjectofactive [ia]corresponds to theSubjectofpassive[ib], whereas [iib] is not a possible passive version of [iia]. (Here and below the asterisk indicates thatwhatfollowsisungrammatical.)

oAPredicativeComplementcanberealisednotonlybyanounphrase,asin[iia],butalsobyanadjectivephrase, as in [iiia], whereas an Object cannot be realised by an adjective phrase, as evident from theungrammaticalityof[iiib].

5.4DirectandIndirectObjectAclausemaycontaintwoObjects,distinguishedasDirectandIndirect.Incanonicalclauses,theIndirectObjectalways precedes the Direct Object, and typically (but not invariably) is associated with the semantic role ofrecipientorbeneficiary:[12]iHegavetheprisonersomewater.[IndirectObject(recipient)+DirectObject]

iiShebakedmeacake.[IndirectObject(beneficiary)+DirectObject]5.5SubjectiveandObjectivePredicativeComplementsThe Predicative Complements in [10b] and [11iia/iiia] are related to the Subject, but it is also possible for aPredicativeComplement to be related to theObject:weaccordingly distinguish two subtypes,SubjectiveandObjective.Compare:[13]SubjectivePredCompObjectivePredComp

ia.Hebecameangry.b.Thismadehimangry.iia.Hewasacharlatan.b.Theyconsideredhimacharlatan.

5.6FivecanonicalclausestructuresOn the basis of the presence or absence of theComplement types considered so farwe can distinguish thefollowingcanonicalclausestructures:[14]ExampleStructureName

iTheydisappeared.SP(Ordinary)intransitiveiiTheywereecstatic.SPPCsComplexintransitiveiiiTheyboughtahouse.SPOd(Ordinary)monotransitiveivTheykeptitwarm.SPOdPCoComplextransitivevTheysenthersomeflowers.SPOiOdDitransitive

In the representationsof thestructures,Sstands forSubject,P forPredicator,PCs forSubjectivePredicativeComplement,Od forDirectObject,PCo forObjectivePredicativeComplement,andOi for IndirectObject.Thenamesreflectthefactthattherearetwodimensionsofcontrast:o Onehas todowithObjects:an intransitiveclausehasnoObject,amonotransitiveclausehasasingle

Object,andaditransitiveclausehastwoObjects.o The other has towith PredicativeComplements: if a clause contains a PredicativeComplement it is

complex, otherwise ordinary, though the latter term is often omitted (as it is in [v], since there is nopossibilityofaddingaPredicativeComplementtoaditransitiveclause).

Thenamesapplyinthefirstinstancetotheclauseconstructions,andthenderivativelytotheverbsthatappear in theseconstructions.Thusdisappear isan(ordinary) intransitiveverb,beacomplexintransitiveone,andsoon.But itmustbeborne inmind that themajorityof verbscanappear inmore thanoneof them,andhencebelongtomorethanoneclass.Find,forexample,commonlyappearsin[iii](Wefoundthekey), [iv] (Wefoundhercooperative),and[v](Wefoundherajob).

5.7PrepositionalandclausalComplements.TheComplementsconsideredso farhavebeennounphrasesoradjectivephrases,but thesearenot theonlypossibilities.Complementsoftenhavetheformofprepositionphrasesorsubordinateclauses:[15]ia.ShewenttoParis.b.ShetookhimtoParis.

iia.Shereliedonherinstinct.b.Hecongratulatedheronherpromotion.iiia.Hesaidhewassorry.b.Hetoldherhewassorry.iva.WeintendtoleaveonTuesday.b.IadviseyoutoleaveonTuesday.

In the [a] examples here the underlined preposition phrase ([iii]) or subordinate clause ([iiiiv]) is the onlyComplement, while in the [b] ones it follows an Object. We look at different kinds of subordinate clause in



Section13,but there isonepoint tobemadehereabout theprepositionalconstructions. In [i] to contrastswithother prepositions such as over, from, via, beyond, etc., but in [ii] on is selected by the verb: any adequatedictionarywill tellyou(ifonlybyexample)thatrelytakesaComplementwithon,consistwithof,referwith to,andsoon.VerbslikethesethattakeasComplementaprepositionphraseheadedbysomespecifiedprepositionare called `prepositional verbs'.Most ditransitive verbs also belong to this latter class by virtue of licensing aprepositionphrasewithtoorforinsteadoftheIndirectObject:compareHegavesomewatertotheprisonerandShebakedacakeformewith[12]above.6VERBS6.1VerbinflectionThe most distinctive property of verbs is their inflection: they have a number of inflectional forms that arepermittedorrequiredinvariousgrammaticalconstructions.Thepresenttenseformtakes,forexample,canoccurastheverbofacanonicalclause,whereasthepastparticipletakencannot:Shetakescare,butnot*Shetakencare.

Thegreatmajorityofverblexemeshavesixinflectionalforms,asillustratedin[16]:[16]iPreteritecheckedShecheckedthefiguresherself.

ii3rdsingularpresentchecksShechecksthefiguresherself.iiiPlainpresentcheckTheycheckthefiguresthemselves.ivPlainformcheckShemaycheckthefiguresherself.vGerundparticiplecheckingSheischeckingthefiguresherself.viPastparticiplecheckedShehadcheckedthefiguresherself.

Itwillbenoticedthatalthoughwehavedistinguishedsixdifferentinflectionalforms,thereareonlyfourdifferentshapes: checked, checks, check and checking. By `shape' wemean the spelling or pronunciation. Thus thepreteriteandpastparticipleof the lexemecheckhave thesameshape,asdo theplainpresent tenseand theplain form.Thesameapplies toall other regular verbs, i.e. verbswhose inflectional formsaredeterminedbygeneralrules.Butthereareagoodnumberofirregularverbswherethepreteriteandpastparticipledonothavethesameshape:take,forexample,hastookasitspreteriteandtakenasitspastparticiple.

Thismeansthatitisveryeasytodecidewhetheranyparticularinstanceoftheshapecheckisapreteriteformor a past participle.What youneed to do is askwhich formof a verb like take would be needed in theconstructioninquestion.Consider,then,thefollowingexamples:[17]iShemayhavecheckedthefiguresherself.

iiI'mnotsurewhethershecheckedthefiguresherselfornot.

Ifwesubstitutetakeforcheckin[i]theformweneedisthepastparticipletaken:Shemayhavetakenabreak.Sothischecked is likewiseapastparticiple.And ifwemake thesubstitution in [ii]weneed thepreterite formtook:I'mnotsurewhethershetookabreakornot.Sothecheckedof [ii] is thepreterite form.Notethatwhenmakingthesubstitutionyouneedtokeepconstantwhatprecedestheverb(e.g.Shemayhave in [i])sincethisiswhatdeterminestheinflectionthatisrequired:whatfollowstheverbisirrelevantandhencecanbechangedtosuittheverbyouaresubstituting.

Letusnowbrieflyreviewthesixforms.(a)Preterite.This isa typeofpast tense: thetypewherethepast tense ismarked inflectionallyrather thanbymeansofanauxiliaryverb.Manygrammarsusethemoregeneralterm`pasttense':wepreferthemorespecifictermtodistinguishitfromtheconstructionwheretheauxiliaryhavemarkstheotherkindofpasttense,asinShehascheckedtheproofs.(b)(c)Thepresenttenseforms.Therearetwopresenttenseforms,onewhichoccurswitha3rdpersonsingularsubject, and onewhich occurswith any other subject: 1st person (Icheck), 2nd person (you check) or plural(they check). We could call this latter form `non3rd person singular', but `plain present' is simpler. `Plain'indicates that it is identicalwith themorphologicalbase of the lexeme, i.e. the startingpoint for the rules thatproducethevariousinflectionalformsbyaddingasuffix,changingthevowel,andsoon.(d)Theplain form. This is also identical with the base, but it is not a present tense form. It is used in threeconstructions:[18]iImperativeCheckthefiguresyourself!

iiInfinitivalIt'sbettertocheckthefiguresoneself.Iwillcheckthemmyself.iiiSubjunctiveIt'sessentialthatshecheckthefiguresherself.

The infinitivalconstruction isveryoftenmarkedby to,but it isalso foundwithout to after such verbs ascan,may,will,do (Shedidn'tcheckthefiguresherself),make (Theymademecheckthefiguresmyself),etc.The



subjunctiveismuchtheleastfrequentofthethreeconstructionsandbelongstosomewhatformalstyle.Therearetwomajorfactorsthatdistinguishtheplainformfromtheplainpresent:

o Theverbbe ishighlyexceptional in its inflection in that ithas threepresent tense forms insteadof theusualtwo(is,am,are)andallofthesearedifferentinshapefromtheplainformbe.It'sthelatterformthatappearsinthethreeconstructionsshownin[18]:Bequiet (imperative) It'sbetter tobesafethansorry, Iwillbereadyintime(infinitival)It'sessentialthatshebetold(subjunctive).Sowecantellwhetheragiveninstance of check, say, is the plain present or the plain form by using the substitution test illustratedabove,butthistimesubstitutingtheverbbe.ThusthecheckofWemustcheckthefiguresisaplainform,notaplainpresenttensebecauseweneedtheplainformofbeinthisposition:Wemustbecareful.

oTheplainpresentdoesn'toccurwith3rdpersonsingularSubjects,buttheplainformdoes.CompareShechecksthefiguresherself(not*Shecheckthefiguresherself)andShewillcheckthefiguresherself (not*Shewillchecksthefiguresherself).

(e) The gerundparticiple. This form always ends with the suffix@ing. Traditional grammar distinguishes twoformswiththissuffix,thegerundandthepresentparticiple:[19]iCheckingthefigurescanbeonerous[traditionalgerund]

iiPeoplecheckingthefiguresmustbealert[traditionalpresentparticiple]

Theideawasthatagerundiscomparabletoanoun,whileaparticipleiscomparabletoanadjective.Thusin[i]checking the figures is comparable to such checks, where checks is a noun in [ii] checking the figures isModifiertopeopleandwasthereforeconsideredadjectivelikesincethemostcommontypeofModifiertoanounisanadjective.[4]Thereis,however,noverbinEnglishthathasdistinctformsfortheconstructionsin[19],andso there isnobasis formakingany inflectionaldistinctionhere inPresentdayEnglish:we thushaveasingleformandthename`gerundparticiple'indicatesthatitcoversbothtraditionalcategories.(f)Thepastparticiple.Thisisusedintwomainconstructions,theperfectandthepassive:[20]iPerfectShehascheckedthefigures.

iiPassiveThefiguresmustbecheckedbytheboss.The perfect is a past tense marked by the auxiliary verb have, while the most straightforward cases of thepassiveinvolvetheauxiliaryverbbe.Weretainthetraditionalterm`pastparticiple',thoughthe`past'componentofmeaningappliesjusttotheperfectconstruction.6.2TheinflectionaltensesystemWehaveseenthat therearetwoinflectional tenses inEnglish:preteriteandpresentwereviewnowthemajorusesofthesetenses.(a)Preterite.Threeusescanbedistinguished,asillustratedin[21]:[21]iPasttimea.Hearrivedyesterday.b.Sheknewhimwell.

iiBackshifta.Edsaidhewasill.b.Ithoughtitstartedtomorrow.iiiModalremotenessa.IwishIknewtheanswer.b.I'ddoitifyoupaidme.

oIn[i]weseethebasicuse,indicatingpasttime.Theeventofhisarrivingtookplaceinthepast,andthe

stateofherknowinghimwellobtainedinthepast(itmaystillobtainnow,butI'mtalkingaboutsometimein thepast).This ismuchthemost frequentuse,but it's important tobeaware that thepreteritedoesn'talwayshavethismeaning.

o Example[iia]couldbeusedtoreportEd'ssaying`Iamill':presenttenseam isshiftedbacktopreteritewas under the influence of the preterite reporting verb said. In [iib] my original thought was `It startstomorrow':againpresenttensestartsisshiftedbacktopreteritestarted.Thisexampleshowsveryclearlythatthebackshiftuseisnotthesameasthepasttimeuse,forclearlythestartingisnotinthepast.

oIn[iii]thepreteritehasamodalratherthantemporalmeaning:ithastodowithfactuality,nottime.In[iiia]the subordinate clause has a counterfactualmeaning under the influence ofwish: youunderstand that Idon't know the answer. The time is present, not past: I don't know it now. The conditional [iiib] is notcounterfactual(itdoesn'truleoutthepossibilityofyourpayingme),butitenvisagesyourpayingmeasasomewhatremotepossibilityratherlesslikelythanwiththepresenttensecounterpartI'lldoitifyoupayme.Notethatthetimeofyourpossiblypayingmeisinthefuture.Weusetheterm`modalremoteness'tocoverboththeseinterpretations(aswellasothersmentionedbrieflyinSection6.5).

(b)Thepresenttense.Thetwomostimportantusesareseenin[22]:[22]iPresenttimea.IpromiseI'llhelpyou.b.ShelivesinSydney.



iiFuturetimea.Examsstartnextweek.b.I'llgohomewhenitgetsdark.oIn[i]weagainhavethebasicandmuchthemostcommonuse:toindicatepresenttime.In[ia]theevent

ofmypromising isactuallysimultaneouswith theutterance, for Iperformtheactofpromisingbysayingthissentence.In[ib]wehaveastate,andthepresenttenseindicatesthatthestateobtainsatthetimeofspeaking.

o In [ii] the time is future. Inmain clauses this is possibleonlywhen theevent is in somewayalreadyscheduled,asin[iia].Butthisconstraintdoesnotapplyinvariouskindsofsubordinateclausesuchaswehavein[iib].

6.3AuxiliaryverbsWeturnnowto the importantsubclassofverbscalledauxiliaryverbs,orauxiliaries: theyarequitemarkedlydifferentintheirgrammaticalbehaviourfromotherverbs,whicharecalledlexicalverbs.6.3.1MembershipoftheclassThemainmembersoftheauxiliaryclassareshownin[23],wheretheyaredividedintotwosubclasses,modalandnonmodal:[23]iModalauxiliariescan,may,must,will,shall,ought,need,dare

iiNonmodalauxiliariesbe,have,do(Could,might,wouldandshould are thepreterite formsofcan,may,will andshall respectively, though theydifferconsiderablyfromotherpreterites,asweshallsee.)6.3.2DistinctivepropertiesThereareseveralconstructionswhichrequirethepresenceofanauxiliaryverb,thetwomostfrequentofwhichinvolveSubjectauxiliaryinversionandnegation.(a)Subjectauxiliaryinversion.WehaveseenthatincanonicalclausestheSubjectprecedestheverbwhereasinmost interrogative main clauses the Subject follows the (first) verb. The verb that precedes the Subject,however,mustbeanauxiliaryverb:onlyauxiliariescaninvertwiththeSubject.Compare:[24]AuxiliaryverbLexicalverb

ia.Shehastakenthecar.b.Shetookthecar.[declarative]iia.Hasshetakenthecar?b.*Tookshethecar?[interrogative]

Ifthedeclarativedoesn'tcontainanauxiliary,asin[ib],itisnecessarytoinserttheauxiliarydosothatinversioncanapply:Didshetakethecar?Thisdohasnomeaning: it issimply inserted tosatisfy thegrammatical rulerequiringanauxiliary.(b) Negation. The construction where not is used to negate the verb likewise requires that the verb be anauxiliary:[25]AuxiliaryverbLexicalverb

ia.Shehastakenthecar.b.Shetookthecar.[positive]iia.Shehasnottakenthecar.b.*Shetooknotthecar.[negative]

Again,ifthereisnoauxiliaryinthepositive,domustbeinsertedtoformthenegative:Shedidnottakethecar.

A further, related,point is thatauxiliaries,butnot lexicalverbs,havenegative formsending in thesuffixn't:amoreinformalvariantof[25iia]isShehasn'ttakenthecar.6.3.3AuxiliariesasHeadsItisimportanttoemphasisethatauxiliariescontrastwithlexicalverbs,notwithwhatsomegrammarscall`mainverbs'. Auxiliaries function as Head, not Dependent, in verb phrase structure. They mostly take nonfiniteclauses as Complement, like many lexical verbs. Compare the examples in [26], where the verb phrase isenclosed in brackets, the Head is in capitals and underlining marks the nonfinite clause functioning as itsComplement:

[26]AuxiliaryverbasHeadLexicalverbasHeadia.They[OUGHTtoaccepttheoffer].b.They[INTENDtoaccepttheoffer].iia.We[CANanswertheirqueries].b.We[HELPanswertheirqueries].iiia.She[WAScheckingthefigures].b.She[BEGANcheckingthefigures].iva.He[WASattackedbyadog].b.He[GOTattackedbyadog].



The particular type of nonfinite clause that is used depends on the Head verb, whether auxiliary or lexical.Ought and intend license infinitivalswith to,can andhelp infinitivalswithout tobe, in one of its uses, andbeginlicenseanonfiniteclausewithagerundparticipleformoftheverbbe,inaseconduse,andget licenseonewithapastparticipleformoftheverb.

Note,then,thattheverbphrasein[iiia],say,isdividedintowas+checkingthefigures,notwaschecking+thefigures,justasthatin[iiib]isdividedintobegan+checkingthefigures,notbeganchecking+ thefigures.Andsimilarlywiththeotherexamples.6.4Thenonmodalauxiliaries,be,have,doLittlefurtherneedbesaidaboutdo:itisusedinconstructionslikeSubjectauxiliaryinversionandnegationwhenrequiredtosatisfytherequirementthattheconstructioncontainanauxiliary.Thereisalsoalexicalverbdousedin clauses likeShedid her best, I did him an injustice, etc. here, then, auxiliarydo must be added to forminterrogativesandnegatives:Didshedoherbest?,Ididn'tdohimaninjustice.(a)Be.Threeusesofbecanbedistinguished,illustratedin:[27]iProgressivemarkera.TheyarewatchingTV.b.I'vebeenworkingallmorning.

iiPassivemarkera.ItwastakenbyJill.b.Hemaybearrested.iiiCopulaa.Shewasafriendofhis.b.Thatisverylikely.

oIn[i],wherebeisfollowedbyaverbinthegerundparticipleform,itisamarkerofprogressiveaspect.It

generallyservestoindicatethatthesituationtheaction,event,state,orwhateverwas,isorwillbeinprogressatthetimeinquestion.

o Theclauses in [ii]arepassive [iia] is thepassivecounterpartofactiveJill took it, thepresenceofbebeingoneofthemajordifferencesbetweenthetwoforms.Thereisnoactivecounterpartof[iib]becausethelatterhasnobyphrase(cf.Section15).

o In[iii]be is theonlyverb,but itstillbehavesasanauxiliary.Thusthe interrogativeof [a] isWassheafriendofhis?and thenegativeof [b] isThat isn't very likely. In theseexamples theauxiliaryhasas itsComplement not a nonfinite clause but a noun phrase (a friend of his) and an adjective phrase (verylikely).

(b)Have.Thisverbbelongstobothlexicalandauxiliaryclasses.InShehadaswim it isa lexicalverb, for theinterrogative andnegative counterparts areDid she have a swim? andShe didn't have a swim. The auxiliaryusesareseenin[28]:[28]iPerfectmarkera.Hehasbrokenhisleg.b.Hemayhavetakenityesterday.

iiStatichavea.Shehasenoughcredit.b.Wehavetoinvitethemall.

oTheperfectismarkedbyauxiliaryhave+apastparticiple.Itisbestregardedasasecondarypasttensetheprimarypasttensebeingtheinflectionalpreterite.Note,forexample,thatthepreteriteisfoundonlyinfinite constructions such as He took it yesterday, so it can't occur after may (cf. *He may took ityesterday:may takesan infinitivalclauseasComplement),andperfecthave is thenused instead,as in[ib].Sincehaveitselfcaninflectfortense,[ia]isdoublymarkedfortense:itis`pastinpresent',thepastbeingmarkedby the lexemehave and the present by the inflection onhave. This reflects the fact thatwhiletheeventofhisbreakinghislegislocatedinpasttimeitisseenashavingrelevancetothepresent.Themost likely scenario is that his leg has not yet healed, so that he is at present incapacitated. Thepresent tensecomponentalsoexplainswhy it isnotnormallypossible toaddanAdjunct likeyesterday:*Hehasbrokenhislegyesterday.

o Have in [ii] denotesa state,unlike thatof theaboveShehadaswim, which is dynamic, denoting anevent.Usage isdividedas towhether statichave isanauxiliaryora lexical verb.ThosewhosayShehasn'tenoughcreditorHavewetoinvitethemall?andthelikearetreatingitasanauxiliary,whilethosewhosayShedoesn'thaveenoughcreditorDowehavetoinvitethemall?aretreatingitasalexicalverb.Manypeopleusebothconstructions,thoughthelexicalverbtreatmenthasbeengaininggroundforsometime.Notethatin[iia]have,likebein[27],doesn'thaveanonfiniteclauseasComplement.

6.5ThemodalauxiliariesInthissectionwefirstnotethatneedanddare,likedoandhaveabove,belongtobothauxiliaryandlexicalverbclasseswenextsetoutthemaingrammaticalpropertiesthatdefinetheclassofmodalauxiliaries,thenconsiderthepreteriteforms,andfinallylookatthekindsofmeaningtheyexpress.(a)Needanddare.Theseareauxiliariesonlywhenfollowedbyaninfinitivalconstructionwithoutto,asinNeedIbother?andIdaren'ttellthem,etc.ThusinIneedahaircut,Ineedtogetmyhaircut,Idareyoutorepeat that,etc.wehavelexicalverbs.



(b)Distinctivegrammaticalpropertiesofmodalauxiliarieso They have only tensed forms: no plain form, no gerundparticiple, no past participle. Hence the

impossibilityof*I'dliketomaygowithyou*We'remustinginvitethemall,*ShehascouldspeakFrenchsinceshewasachild.

o They are invariable in the present tense insteadof having a distinct form in@s usedwith 3rd personsingularSubjects:Shecanswim,not*Shecansswim,etc.

oWithoneexceptiontheylicenseafollowinginfinitivalComplementwithoutto:Shecanswim,not*Shecantoswim.Theexceptionisought:Theyoughttoaccepttheoffer(=[26ia]).

NotethatalthoughWehavetoinvitethemallhasessentiallythesamemeaningasWemustinvitethemall, thishave isnotamodalauxiliary: ithasnoneoftheabovethreegrammaticalproperties.It isaspecialcaseofthestatichave,illustratedin[28ii],andassuchitisformanyspeakersnotanauxiliaryatall,butalexicalverb.(c) The preterite forms.Could,might,would and should are the preterite forms of can,may,will and shallrespectively,buttheuseofthesepreteritesdiffersfromthatofotherpreteriteformsinPresentdayEnglish.oOnlycouldandwouldhavethebasicpreteriteuseofindicatingpasttime:IcoulddoiteasilywhenIwas

youngerIaskedhimtohelpbuthewouldn't.oThestatusofmightandshouldaspreteritesisestablishedbytheiruseincertainconditionalconstructions

and in thosecasesof reportedspeechor thoughtwherepresent tense formsareexcluded.Thus thoughwecanhavemayinIfyoucomebacktomorrowyoumayfindhimin,weneedmightinIfyoucamebacktomorrowyoumight findhimin.[5]And ifatsome time in thepast Ihad the thought `Ishall easily finishbeforeshereturns'Iwouldreportthiswithshould,asinIknewIshouldeasily finishbeforeshereturned(not*shall).

oThemajordifferenceisthatwhilewithotherverbsthemodalremotenessuseofthepreteriteisrestrictedtocertainkindsofsubordinateclause,withthemodalauxiliariesitoccursinmainclausesandwithawiderrangeof interpretationwithmight andshould it isoverwhelmingly themost frequentuse.Thepreteritestendtobeweaker,moretentativeorpolitethanthepresenttenseforms.

(d)Typesofmodalmeaning.Themodalauxiliariesexpressaconsiderablevarietyofmeanings,buttheycanbegroupedintothreemajortypes.o Epistemicmodality.Hereweareconcernedwithwhat isnecessary, likelyorpossible:Hemust have

oversleptDinnershouldbereadyinafewminutesShemaybeill.oDeonticmodality.Hereitisamatterofwhatisrequiredorpermitted:YoumustworkharderYoushould

bestudyingforyourexamYoucan/maygowiththemifyoulike.oDynamicmodality.Hereitisaquestionofpropertiesordispositionsofpersonsorotherentitiesinvolved

in thesituation:Shecan speak very persuasively (ability),Will you helpme? (willingness). This kind ofmeaningismainlyfoundwithjustcan,willanddare.

Insomecasesthereisaclearambiguityastowhichtypeofmeaningisintended.Youmustbeverytactful, forexample,canbeinterpretedepistemically(I'minferringfromevidencethatyouareverytactful)ordeontically(I'mtellingyoutobeverytactful).Shecan'tbeseriousmaybeunderstoodepistemically(Sheisobviouslynotbeingserious)ordynamically(Sheisunabletobeserious).7NOUNSANDNOUNPHRASES7.1DistinctivepropertiesofnounsNouns form much the largest word class. It contains all words that denote physical entities, but also greatnumbersofwordsthatdonothavethissemanticproperty:inordertobeabletoidentifynounswethereforeneedto examine their grammatical properties. We consider them under three headings: inflection, function anddependents.(a)Inflection.Nounsgenerallyexhibitinflectionalcontrastsofnumberandcase:[29]NumberCase

PlainGenitiveiSingularstudentstudent'siiPluralstudentsstudents'

Schoolgrammarscommonlyusetheterm`possessive' insteadof`genitive',butthattermisfartoospecificforthewiderangeofrelationshipscoveredbythiscase:compare,forexample,Kim'sparents,theboys'behaviour,thetrain'sarrival,themayor'sobituary,thesun'srays,today'snews.(b)Function.Nouns can function asHead in noun phrases that in turn function asSubject orComplement in



clause structure, orComplement of a preposition, as illustrated in [30],where nouns are underlined and nounphrasesbracketed:[30]iSubjectinclause[Onestudent]wasarrested.

iiComplementinclauseTheyinterviewed[allthestudents].iiiComplementinprepphraseThetalkwasgivenby[astudent].

(c)Dependents.TherearesomekindsofDependent thatoccurexclusively(oralmostexclusively)withanounasHead:[31]iCertaindeterminativesthestudent,aschool,everybook,whichexam

iiPreheadadjectives.maturestudents,anewbook,aneasyexamiiiRelativeclausesthestudentwhodirectedtheplay,abookI'mreading

7.2ThestructureofnounphrasesNoun phrases typically consist of a Head noun alone or accompanied by one or more Dependents. TheDependentsareofthreemaintypes:Determiners,ComplementsandModifiers.

(a)Determiners.Thesearefounduniquelyinthestructureofnounphrases.Theyhavetheformofdeterminatives(or determinative phrases, as in almost all students, notmany people, too few volunteers) or genitive nounphrases(thegirl'svoice,somepeople'sbehaviour,mybook).Determinersservetomarkthenounphraseasdefiniteorindefinite.[32]iDefinitethePremierofNSW,thekey,thisbook,bothcopies,theman'sdeath

iiIndefiniteapolitician,somekeys,anyseriousbook,enoughcopies,threedogsWe use a definite noun phrasewhenwe assume that its content is sufficient, in thecontext, to identify thereferent.There'sonlyone (current)PremierofNSW,so thedefiniteness in the firstexample isunproblematic,butwiththesecondexamplethereisofcourseveryheavyrelianceoncontexttomakethereferentclear.The isapuremarkerofdefiniteness,knownasthedefinitearticle.Itsuseeffectivelypreemptsawhichquestion:ifIsayWhere's the key? I assume you won't need to askWhich key? Note that a genitive Determiner confersdefiniteness on the nounphrase: theman'sdeathmeans `the death of theman', andaman's death likewisemeans`thedeathofaman'.Nounphrases likeblackcoffeeand friends,whichhaveacommonnounasHeadandnoDeterminerarenormallyindefinite.(b) Complements. The clearest cases of Complements involve preposition phrases where the preposition isspecifiedbytheHeadnoun,andcertaintypesofsubordinateclause:[33]iPrepositionphrasesherreviewoftheplay,abanonalcohol,hismarriagetoSue

iiSubordinateclausestheideathathemightbeill,anopportunitytomakefriendsNotethatnouns,unlikeverbs,donottakeObjects:wesayShereviewedtheplay,butnot*herreviewtheplayinsteadweneedof theplay.Withbanandmarriage theprepositions requiredareon and to. The subordinateclauses in [ii]clearlysatisfy the licensing test:onlya fairlynarrowrangeofnounscan takeComplements likethese.(c)Modifiers. The typical preHeadModifier is an adjective or adjective phrase: a good book, a very seriousmatter.Butthosearenottheonlypossibilities.Inparticular,nounscanalsofunctionasModifiertoaHeadnoun:a school play, the unemployment situation, etc. PostHead Modifiers are typically preposition phrases andsubordinate clauses that occurmore freely thanComplements in that they do not have to be licensed by theHeadnoun:amanofhonour, thehouseopposite thepostoffice, theplay that shewrote, the guy who spokefirst.

ItisalsopossibletohaveModifiersthatprecedetheDeterminer:allthebooks,boththeseplays,toosmallacarforourneeds.Notethatadverbscanoccurinthisposition,butnotaftertheDeterminer:absolutelythebestsolution,butnot*anabsolutelysuccess.Insteadofthelatterweneedanadjective,anabsolutesuccess.7.3Numberandcountability(a)Nouns with fixed number. Althoughmost nouns have an inflectional contrast between singular and plural,thereareagoodfewthatdonotthathaveonlysingularoronlypluralforms:[34]iSingularonlynounscrockery,dross,harm,nonsensenews,mumps,physics,...

iiPluralonlynounsbelongings,clothes,genitals,scissorscattle,police,...



Note that the last three items in [i]end in@sbutareneverthelesssingular,asevident, forexample, from theagreement inThisnews isgood. Conversely, the last two items in [ii] don't end in@s, but are neverthelessplural:cf.Thesecattleareingoodhealth.(b)Countandnoncountnouns.Related to thedistinctionbetweennounswithvariablenumberandnounswithfixednumberisthatbetweencountandnoncountnouns.Countnounscantakecardinalnumerals(one, two,three,etc.)asDependent,whilenoncountnounscannot.Comparecountstudent (onestudent, two students)andnoncountharmandclothes(*oneharm/clothes,*twoharms/clothes).

However,mostnounscanoccurwitheitheracountoranoncountinterpretation:[35]CountinterpretationNoncountinterpretation

ia.Hepulledoutawhitehair.b.Hehaswhitehair.iia.Haveanothercake.b.Havesomemorecake.iiia.CanIborrowyourfootball.b.Let'splayfootball.

Theinterpretationsin[a]allowforacontrastbetweenoneandmorethanone(cf.,forexample,Hepulledouttwowhitehairs),butthosein[b]donot.Whenwespeakofcountandnoncountnouns,therefore,wearereferringtonounsasusedwithacountandnoncount interpretation.Thushair isacountnoun in [ia],anoncountnoun in[ib],andsoon.(c) Subjectverb agreement. We noted in Section5.1 that where a verb has personnumber properties theynormallyagreewiththoseoftheSubjectnounphrase,moreparticularlywiththoseoftheHeadnounofthatnounphrase:ThedogisbarkingvsThedogsarebarking.Thereare,however,certainsemanticallymotivatedtypesofdeparturefromthispattern,asillustratedin[36]:[36]iMeasureexpressionsTwohoursisn'tlongenoughforsuchajob.

iiQuantificationalnounsAlotofpeoplelikeit.iiiCollectivenounsThejuryhaven'tyetreachedadecision.

oIn[i]thehoursaren'tthoughtofindividuallybutasmakingupasingleperiod,sotheSubjectistreatedas

singular.oIn[ii]theverbformisdeterminednotbytheHeadnoun lotbutbypeople,which isembeddedwithin the

Subjectnounphrase.oWithcollectivenounslikejuryin[iii]thereisdividedusage,withsingularhasn'talsoused.7.4SubclassesofnounThereare threemainsubclassesofnoun:commonnoun,propernoun andpronoun. Common noun is thedefaultsubclassandneedsnofurthercommenthere.(a)Propernouns.This subclass includesnounssuchasJohn,Mary,Smith,Beethoven,Sydney,Egypt,Nile,Easter,Friday,etc.TheycharacteristicallyfunctionasHeadofnounphrasesservingaspropernames,namesindividually assigned toparticular people, places, festivals, daysof theweek, andsoon.Note, however, thattheyalsooccur,derivatively,inotherkindsofnounphrase:That'snottheSmithIwasreferringto,Let'slistentosomeBeethoven.Conversely,notallpropernamescontainpropernouns:cf.CentralAvenue,NewYear'sDay,andsoon.Andsomepropernamescontainmorethanjustapropernoun:theNile,MtEverest,KingJohn.(b) Pronouns. The grammatically distinctive property of pronouns is that they do not normally combine withDeterminers:Hearrived,not*Thehearrived.Thereareseveralsubtypesofpronoun,including:[37]iPersonalpronounsI,we,you,he,she,it,they,one

iiReciprocalpronounseachother,oneanotheriiiInterrogativeorrelativepronounswho,what,which,whoever,etc.

Wewillcommenthereononlythefirstofthesecategories.Personalpronounsarethosewherewefindcontrastsofperson.Iandwearefirstperson,usedtorefertothespeakeroragroupcontainingthespeaker.(`Speaker'istobeunderstoodascoveringthewriterinwrittentexts.)Youissecondperson,usedtorefertotheaddresseeora group containing one or more addressees. The others are third person: this doesn't encode reference tospeakeroraddresseeandthereforeusuallyreferstoentitiesotherthanthespeakeroraddressee.ButIcanrefertomyselfortoyouinthethirdperson:Thewriterhasnoticed...Thereadermayrecall...

Thepersonalpronounshavefiveinflectionalforms:

[38]iNominativeI,we,you,...Ididit.ItwasIwhodidit.iiAccusativeme,us,you,...Itbitme.Itwasmewhodidit.iiiDependentgenitivemy,our,your,...Mysonishere.Isawyourcar.



ivIndependentgenitivemine,ours,yours,...Minewasbroken.That'smine.vReflexivemyself,ourselves,...Ihurtmyself.Wetalktoourselves.

NominativesoccurmostlyasHeadofaSubjectnounphrase.InformalstyletheycanalsooccurincertaintypesofPredicativeComplement,withtheaccusativeasalessformalvariant:ItwasI/mewhodidit. Inother types,however,only theaccusative ispossible:Thevictimwasme,not*Thevictimwas I, and the like.Dependentgenitives occur when there is a following Head in the noun phrase, independent ones when there isn't.ReflexivesusuallyrelatebacktotheSubjectnounphrase,asintheaboveexamples.8ADJECTIVESANDADJECTIVEPHRASES8.1TwomajorfunctionsofadjectivesMostadjectivescanbeeitherattributiveorpredicative:[39]iAttributiveahotday,somenewDVDs,thisexcellentplay,lonelypeople

iiPredicativeIt'shot.Theselooknew.Ifounditexcellent.Theyseemlonely.Attributive adjectives are prehead Modifiers in noun phrase structure predicative adjectives are PredicativeComplementsinclausestructure(seeSection5.5).[6]

Thereare,however,someadjectivesthatarerestrictedtooneorotherofthesefunctions:[40]iAttributiveonlythemainspeaker,amerechild,theonlyproblem,myowncar

iiNeverattributiveI'mafraid.She'sasleep.Helookscontent.It'sliabletoflood.8.2GradabilityandgradeThemost centraladjectivesaregradable: theydenoteproperties that canapply in varyingdegrees.Assuch,they can bemodified by adverbs of degree and (under conditions relating to length and form) be inflected forcomparative(e.g.taller)andsuperlative(e.g.tallest)grade:[41]iDegreemodificationverygood,quitehot,ratheryoung,tooold,incrediblybad

iiInflectionforgradehotter,younger,older,betterhottest,youngest,oldest,bestGradableadjectives thatdon't inflectmarkcomparativeandsuperlativedegreebymeansof theadverbsmoreandmostrespectively:moreintelligent,mostintelligent.

Therearealsoagoodnumberofadjectivesthatdenotenonscalarpropertiesandhencearenongradable:alphabetical order, the chief difficulty, the federal government, her right eye, third place. Some adjectives,moreover, can be used in two different senses, one gradable, the other nongradable (and usually the morebasic). InThe door is open, for example,open is nongradable, but inYou should bemore openwithus it isgradable.8.3ThestructureofadjectivephrasesAdjectivephrasesconsistofanadjectiveasHead,aloneoraccompaniedbyoneormoreDependents,whichmaybeComplementsorModifiers:[42]iComplementsgoodatchess,gratefulforyourhelp,fondofanimals,keenongolf,

gladthatyoulikedit,unsurewhathadhappened,eagertohelpiiModifiersverybad,morallywrong,thisgood,mostuseful,muchbetter,two

dayslong,abitold,cautioustoexcess,dangerousintheextreme

TheComplements are preposition phrases or subordinate clauses in the former case the adjective selects aparticular preposition to head the Complement: fond takes of, keen takes on, and so on. The Modifiers areadverbs(e.g.very),determinatives(this),nounphrases(twodays)orpostHeadprepositionalphrases.AdjectivephrasescontainingpostHeadDependentscannotnormallybeusedattributively:He'sgoodatchess,butnot*agoodatchessschoolboy.9ADVERBSANDADVERBPHRASES.9.1AdverbsinrelationtoadjectivesThemajorityofadverbsarederivedfromadjectivesbyaddingthesuffix@ly:commoncommonly,rarerarely,etc. There are a good number of adverbs not formed in this way, some of them very common (e.g. almost,always,often,quite,rather,soon, too,very),but thesearenormallyrecognisableasadverbsbyvirtueofbeingreplaceablebyoneswiththe@lysuffix:compareIt'sverygoodand It'sextremelygoodShealwayswinsandShefrequentlywinsIt'llbeoversoonandIt'llbeovershortly,andsoon.

Themajordifferencebetweenadverbsandadjectiveshas todowith their functions.Wehaveseen thatadjectives functionattributivelyorpredicatively,butadverbsdonotnormallyoccur in these functions:compare



attributiveasuccessfulmeeting,not*asuccessfullymeeting,andpredicativeThemeetingwassuccessful,not*Themeetingwas successfully. Adverbs function asModifier to a wide range of word or phrase classes, asillustratedin[43],whereunderliningmarksthemodifyingadverbandcapitalswhatitmodifies:[43]Adverbmodifying:

iVerbSheSPOKEclearly.ShePLAYEDwell.iiAdjectiveIt'saremarkablyGOODplayItlooksveryGOODiiiAdverbHespokevirtuallyINAUDIBLY.TheyalmostNEVERreply.ivDeterminativeNearlyALLcopiesweresold.TooFEWcopieswereprinted.vPrepphraseSheiscompletelyINCONTROL.It'squiteBEYONDBELIEF.viRestofclauseSurprisinglyEVERYONEAGREEDFrankly,IT'SUSELESS.

In general adverbs that canmodify adjectives and other adverbs can alsomodify verbs, but there are someexceptions,mostnotablyveryand too (in thesense `excessively').CompareHe'sveryFONDofher and *HeveryLOVESher(weneedHelovesherveryMUCH).

A few adverbs inflect for grade (soon, sooner, soonest), but for the most part comparatives andsuperlativesaremarkedbymoreandmost:morecarefully,mostcarefully.9.2ThestructureofadverbphrasesThestructureofadverbphrasesisbroadlysimilartothatofadjectivephrases,butsimpler:inparticular,veryfewadverbslicensecomplements.[44]iComplementsLuckilyforme,itrained.Wehandleditsimilarlytotheothers.

iiModifiersShesangverywell.Itwon'tendthatsoon.Weleftabitlate.10PREPOSITIONSANDPREPOSITIONPHRASES.Themost centralmembersof thepreposition classhavemeanings concernedwith relations in timeor space:afterlunch,atschool,beforetheend, in thegarden,off thebridge,onthedesk,etc. In thissectionwe lookatthefunctionofprepositionsandthenat theirComplements,andfinallyconsider thephenomenonofprepositionstranding.(a)Functionofprepositions.PrepositionsfunctionasHeadinprepositionphrases,andtheseinturnfunctionasDependent(ComplementorModifier)toanyofthefourmajorpartsofspeech:

[45]Prepphrasedependenton:iVerbSheWENTtoLondon.TheyAREinthegarden.iiNounHe'saMANofprinciple.It'sontheWAYtoParis.iiiAdjectiveShe'sINTERESTEDinpolitics.I'mRESPONSIBLEforthemivAdverbLUCKILYforme,nooneknew.IsawherLATERintheday.

(b)Complementsof prepositions. Usually (as in all the examples in [45]) prepositions take a noun phrase asComplement.Thereare,however,otherpossibilities:[46]iPrepositionphraseHeemerged[fromunderthebed.I'llstay[untilafterlunch].

iiAdjectivephraseThatstrikesme[asunfair].Itookhim[fordead].iiiAdverbphraseIdidn'tknow[untilrecently].Ican'tstay[forlong].ivClauseItdepends[onwhatshesays].Itoldher[beforesheleft].[7]

(c)Prepositionstranding. InanumberofclauseconstructionstheComplementofapreposition isplacedat thefrontoftheclauseoromittedaltogether,leavingthepreposition`stranded':[47]ia.Whatareyoulookingat?b.It'ssomething[whichIcandowithout].

iia.Thisisthebook[Iwasreferringto].b.Hewenttothesameschoolas[Iwentto].The construction is characteristic of relatively informal style, but it is a serious mistake to say that it isgrammaticallyincorrect.11NEGATION(a)Clausalvssubclausalnegation.Negationismarkedbyindividualwordssuchasnot,no,never,orbyaffixessuchaswehave inuncommon,noncompliant, infrequent,careless, isn't,won't, etc.We need to distinguish,however, between caseswhere the negative affects thewhole clause (clausalnegation) and those where itaffectsjustapartofit(subclausalnegation):



[48]iClausalnegationa.Heisnotwell.b.Surprisingly,hewasn'till.iiSubclausalnegationa.Heisunwell.b.Notsurprisingly,hewasill.

Theclausesin[i]arenegative,butthosein[ii]arepositiveeventhoughtheycontainanegativeelementwithinthem.Wesaythisbecausetheybehavelikeobviouslypositiveclauseswithrespecttotheconstructionsshownin[49]:[49]InterrogativetagsAndsovsandnor

iPositivea.Heiswell,isn'the?b.Surprisingly,hewasillandsowasshe.iiNegativea.Heisnotwell,ishe?b.Surprisingly,hewasn'tillandnorwasshe.iiiPositivea.Heisunwell,isn'the?b.Notsurprisingly,hewasillandsowasshe.

oIn[a]wehaveaclausefollowedbyaninterrogative`tag'usedtoseekconfirmationofwhathasbeensaid.

Theusualtypeoftagreversesthe`polarity'oftheclausetowhichit isattachedthatis, it isnegativeifattachedtoapositiveclause,as in[ia],andpositive ifattachedtoanegativeclause,as in[iia].Andweseefrom[iiia], therefore, thatHeisunwellcountsaspositivesince the tag isnegative: theclause isnomorenegativethanHeissick.

o In the[b]exampleswehaveaddedatruncatedclause introducedbyandsoorandnor.Wegetandsoafterapositiveclauseandandnorafteranegativeone.AndNotsurprisingly,hewasill isshowntobeapositiveclausebecauseittakesandso.

(b) Nonaffirmative items. There are a number of words or expressions that occur readily in negative orinterrogativeclausesbutgenerallynotinpositivedeclaratives.Compare:[50]DeclarativeInterrogative

iNegativea.Hedidn'tfindanycracks.b.Didn'thefindanycracks?iiPositivea.*Hefoundanycracks.b.Didhefindanycracks?

Instead of [iia] we sayHe found some cracks. Such items as any in [50] are called nonaffirmative (with`affirmative' understood as combining declarative and positive). They include compoundswithany@, such asanybody,anyone,anything,etc.,atall,either,ever,yet,budge,canbear,canstand,giveadamn, liftafinger,etc.Moreprecisely,thesearenonaffirmativeinatleastoneoftheirsenses:someofthemalsohavesensesinwhichtheycanoccurinaffirmativeconstructions.Theanyseriesofwords,forexample,canoccurinaffirmativeconstructionswhenthemeaningiscloseto`every',asinAnyonecandothat.12CLAUSETYPEANDSPEECHACTSWe use sentences to make statements, ask questions, make requests, give orders, and so on: these aredifferent kinds of speech act (a term understood, like `speaker', to cover writing as well as speech). Thegrammatical counterpart isclausetype, where we distinguish declarative, interrogative, and so on. Themaincategorieswerecognisehereareillustratedin[51]:[51]iDeclarativeYouareverytactful.

iiClosedinterrogativeAreyouverytactful?iiiOpeninterrogativeHowtactfulareyou?ivExclamativeHowtactfulyouare!vImperativeBeverytactful.

Weusedifferenttermsfortheclausetypesthanforthespeechactsbecausetherelationbetweenthetwosetsofcategoriesisbynomeansonetoone.Considersuchexamplesas[52]:[52]iYou'releavingalready?

iiIaskyouagainwhereyouwereontheeveningof14July.iiiIpromisetohelpyou.ivWouldyoumindopeningthedoorforme?

Grammatically, [i] is declarative, but it would be used as a question: a question can be marked by risingintonation (orbypunctuation) rather thanby thegrammatical structure.Example [ii] is likewisedeclarativebutagainitwouldbeusedasaquestion(perhapsinacourtcrossexamination):thequestionforcethistimecomesfromtheverbask, inthepresenttensewitha1stpersonSubject.Promise in[iii]worksinthesameway:thisexample would generally be used tomake a promise. This illustrates the point that although we have just ahandfulofdifferentclausetypesthereareagreatmanydifferentkindsofspeechact:onecanapologise,offer,congratulate, beseech, declare a meeting open, and so on. Finally, [iv] is a closed interrogative but wouldcharacteristicallybeusedtomakearequest.Inthisuseitiswhatiscalledanindirectspeechact:althoughitisliterallyaquestionitactuallyconveyssomethingelse,apoliterequest.



Allcanonicalclausesaredeclarativeandweneedsaynomoreaboutthistype,butafewcommentsareinorderfortheremainingfourtypes.

(a)Closedinterrogatives.Thesearesocalledbecausetheyaretypicallyusedtoaskquestionswithaclosedsetofanswers.UsuallytheseareYesandNo(ortheirequivalents),but inexampleslike Is itaboyoragirl? theyderivefromthetermsjoinedbyor:It'saboyandIt'sagirl.Grammatically theyaremarkedbySubjectauxiliaryinversion (though such inversion is not restricted to interrogatives: in the declarative Never had I felt soembarrasseditistriggeredbytheinitialplacementofthenegativenever).(b)Openinterrogatives.Thesearetypicallyusedtoaskquestionswithanopensetofanswers(e.g.very,quite,slightly,etc. inthecaseof[51iii]).Theyaremarkedbythepresenceofaninterrogativephraseconsistingoforcontaining a socalled `whword':who,what,when,where, how, etc. This phrasemay be Subject (Who saidthat?),Complement (What do youwant?) or Adjunct (When did he leave?). If it is Complement or Adjunct itnormally occurs at the beginning of the clause, which has Subjectauxiliary inversion, as in the last twoexamples.Itispossible,however,forittoremaininpostverbalposition,asinAndafterthatyouwentwhere? (aconstructionmostlikelytobefoundinacontextofsustainedquestioning).(c)Exclamatives. These have, at the front of the clause, an exclamative phrase containing eitherhow, as in[51iv],orwhat,asinWhatafoolI'vebeen!(d)Imperatives.Themostcommontypeofimperativehasyouunderstood,asin[51v],orexpressedasSubject(as inYoubecarefulDon't you speak tome like that). The verb is in the plain form, butdo is used in thenegative:Don'tmove.Wealsohave3rdpersonimperativeslikeSomebodyopenthewindow,distinguishedfromthe declarative precisely by the plain form verb. 1st person plural imperatives aremarked by let's: Let's go!,Don'tlet'sbother.13SUBORDINATECLAUSESSubordinateclausesnormallyfunctioninthestructureofaphraseoralargerclause.Whereasmainclausesarealmostinvariablyfinite,subordinateclausesmaybefiniteornonfinite.13.1Finitesubordinateclauses.Themost central type of finite clause is tensed, i.e. contains a verb inflected for tense (preterite or presenttense), andmost finite subordinate clauses are of this type. There is, however, one construction containing aplainformoftheverbthatbelongsinthefiniteclass,thesubjunctive:[53]iShesaysthatheiskeptwellinformed[tensed:isispresenttenseverb]

iiSheinsiststhathebekeptwellinformed[subjunctive:beisplainform]Subjunctiveisthusthenameofasyntacticconstruction,notaninflectionalcategory,asintraditionalgrammar.IthasaplainformverbandwhentheSubjectisapersonalpronounitappearsinnominativecase.

We distinguish three main types of finite subordinate clause: content clauses, relative clauses andcomparativeclauses.13.1.1ContentclausesTheseusuallyfunctionasSubjectorelseComplementofaverb,noun,adjectiveorpreposition:[54]iThattheyacceptedtheofferisveryfortunate.[Subject]

iiIKNOWshelikesit.[Complementofverb]iiiTheFACTthatit'ssocheapmakesmesuspicious.[Complementofnoun]ivWestayedinBECAUSEitwasraining.[Complementofpreposition]

Likemainclausestheyselectforclausetype,exceptthattherearenosubordinateimperatives:[55]iDeclarativeHedidn'tknowthateverybodysupportedtheproposal.

iiClosedinterrogativeHedidn'tknowwhethereverybodysupportedtheproposal.iiiOpeninterrogativeHedidn'tknowwhichproposaleverybodysupported.ivExclamativeHedidn'tknowwhatalotofthemsupportedtheproposal..

o Declarativesareoftenmarkedbythesubordinator thatandsince thatoccurs inboththetensedclause

andthesubjunctivein[53]weincludebothinthedeclarativeclass.

o Closed interrogativeshavewhetheror if insteadof theSubjectauxiliary inversionfound inmainclauses(compare the main clause counterpart of the subordinate clause in [ii]: Did everybody support theproposal?).



o Open interrogatives have the interrogative phrase in initial position and normally no Subjectauxiliaryinversion (again compare the main clause counterpart of that in [iii]: Which proposal did everybodysupport?).

oExclamativesmostlyhavethesameformastheirmainclausecounterparts,aswith[iv].13.1.2Relativeclauses(a)RelativeclausesasModifier.ThemostcentralkindofrelativeclausesfunctionsasModifier innounphrasestructure:[56]ia.Iagreewith[theguywhospokelast].b.Iagreewith[theguythatspokelast].

iia.Helost[thekeywhichIlenthim].b.Helost[thekeyIlenthim].Suchclausescontainanovertorcovertelementwhichrelatesbackto theHeadnoun,soweunderstand in [i]thatsomeguyspoke lastand in [ii] that I lenthimakey.This `relativisedelement' isovert in [ia] (therelativepronounwho)and[iia](which),butcovertinthe[b]examples.Thisisobviousinthecaseof[iib],andin[ib]that,although traditionallyclassifiedasa relativepronoun, isbetter regardedasasubordinator, thesameoneas isfound indeclarativecontentclauses like [55i]on thisanalysis there isnoovert relativisedelement in [ib]anymorethanin[iib].

Therelativisedelementcanhaveavarietyoffunctionsintherelativeclause:in[56i]itisSubject,in[56ii]Object,andsoon.(b)Supplementary relative clauses.The relative clauses in [56] are tightly integrated into the structure of thesentence,butitisalsopossibleforrelativeclausestobesetoffbypunctuationorintonation,sothattheyhavethestatusofmorelooselyattachedSupplements,asin:[57]iI'velentthecartomybrother,whohasjustcomeoverfromNewZealand.

iiHeoversleptagain,whichmadehimmissthetrain.Inthistypetherelativisedelementisalmostalwaysovert,anddoesn'trelatebacktoanounbuttoalargerunit,awhole noun phrase in [i] (mybrother) and a clause in [ii], wherewhich is understood as `(the fact) that heoversleptagain'.(c)Thefusedrelativeconstruction.Thisisstructurallymorecomplexthantheaboveconstructions:[58]ia.Whoeverwrotethismustbeverynaive.b.Youcaninvitewhoyoulike.

iia.Hequicklyspentwhatshegavehim.b.Whatbookshehasareintheattic.Theunderlinedsequencesherearenotthemselvesclausesbutnounphrases:clausesdon'tdenoteentitiesthatcanbenaiveorbe invitedorspentor located in theattic.Note,moreover, thatare in [iib]agreeswithapluralnoun phrase Subject, whereas Subjects with the form of clauses take 3rd person singular verbs, as in [54i].Whoeverin[58ia]isequivalenttothepersonwhoandwhatin[iia]tothatwhich,andsoon.Thisiswhywecallthisconstruction`fused':theHeadofthenounphraseandtherelativisedelementarefusedtogether,insteadofbeingseparate,asin[56ia/iia].

These constructionsmay look superficially like open interrogative content clauses. Compare [58iib], forexample,with Iaskedherwhatshegavehim. Themeaning is quite different: the latter,where the underlinedclauseisinterrogative,canbeglossedas`Iaskedhertheanswertothequestion,`Whatdidshegivehim?'',butthereisnosuchquestionmeaningin[58iia].Similarlycompare[58iib],meaning`The(few)bookshehasareintheattic',withWhatbookshehasisunknown,wheretheunderlinedclause is interrogativeandthemeaning is`Theanswertothequestion`Whatbooksdoeshehave?'isunknown'notethatthistimethemainclauseverbissingularis,agreeingwiththeclausalSubject.

13.1.3ComparativeclausesComparativeclausesgenerallyfunctionasComplementtotheprepositionsasandthan:[59]ia.I'masreadyasIeverwillbe.b.Aswasexpected,Suewoneasily.

iia.MorepeoplecamethanI'dexpected.b.Hehasmorevicesthanhehasvirtues.Thedistinctivepropertyofsuchclauses is that theyarestructurally incomplete relative tomainclauses: thereareelementsunderstoodbutnotovertlyexpressed. In [ia]and[iia] there'samissingComplementand in [ib]amissing Subject. Even in [iib] there's amissing Dependent in theObject noun phrase, for the comparison isbetweenhowmanyviceshehasandhowmanyvirtueshehas.Thefactthatthere'ssomekindofunderstoodquantifier here is reflected in the fact thatwe can't insert an overt one: *He hasmore vices than he has tenvirtues.



13.2NonfinitesubordinateclausesTherearethreemajorkindsofnonfiniteclause:[60]iInfinitivala.Hewantstoseeyou.b.Ican'thelpyou.

iiGerundparticipiala.Buyingacarwasamistake.b.He'stheguystandingup.iiiPastparticipiala.Allthingsconsidered,it'sOK.b.Wegottoldoff.

Infinitivalscontainaplain formof theverb,withorwithout thespecialmarker to gerundparticipials and pastparticipialshaveverbsinthegerundparticipleandpastparticipleformsforfurtherexamples,see[26]above.

MostnonfiniteclauseshavenoovertSubject,butallthreekindsallowoneundercertainconditions.o In infinitivals, it occurs in the tovariantwith initial for as subordinator:For them to be so late is very

unusual.o IngerundparticipialsapersonalpronounSubjectusuallyappears inaccusativecase,butgenitivesare

foundinrelativelyformalstyle:Weobjectedtothem/theirbeinggivenextraprivileges.oExample[iiia]isapastparticipialwithanovertSubject.Infinitivalsaremuchthemostfrequentofthethreeclassesofnonfiniteclause,andappearinaverywiderangeoffunctions.TheseincludeSubject(Toerrishuman),Complementofaverb(asin[60ia/b]:theHeadverbdetermines whether to is included), Complement of a noun (I applaud [her willingness to compromise]),Complementofanadjective(She's[willingtocompromise]),Adjunct(Shewalkstoworktokeepfit),Modifierofanoun (I need [an album to keep the photos in]). In general, prepositions take gerundparticipials rather thaninfinitivals as Complement (He left [without saying goodbye]), but the compound in order and so as areexceptions(Shestayedathome[inordertostudyfortheexam]).14COORDINATIONCoordination is a relationbetween twoormore itemsof equal syntactic status, thecoordinates. They are ofequalstatusinthesensethatoneisnotaDependentofanother.(a) The marking of coordination. Coordination is usually but not invariably marked by the presence of acoordinator, such asand,or,nor, but the first three of thesemay also be paired with a determinative, both,eitherandneitherrespectively.Themainpatternsareseenin[61]:[61]iWehavenomilkandtheshopsaren'topenyet.

iiHerbrothercametoo,butdidn'tstaylong.iiiWecanmeetonMonday,onThursdayorattheweekend.ivWecanmeetonMonday,oronThursdayorattheweekend.vBothJillandherhusbandattendedthemeeting.viHewasselfconfident,determined,egotistical.

Examples[i][iii] illustratethemostusualcase:acoordinatorinthelastcoordinate.In[iv]thereisacoordinatorinallnoninitialcoordinates,in[v]adeterminativeinthefirst,andin[vi]noovertmarkingofcoordinationatall.(b)Functional likenessrequiredbetweencoordinates.Coordinationcanappearatmoreor lessanyplace in thestructureof sentences.Youcanhavecoordinationbetweenmainclauses (givingacompoundsentence,as in[61i]), between subordinate clauses, between phrases, between words (e.g. Have you seen my father andmother?).But thecoordinatesneed tobegrammaticallyalike.Usually theybelong to thesameclass,as inalltheexamples in [61].Theydonothave tobe,however: thecrucialconstraint is that theybealike in function.Compare,then:[62]iSheisverybrightandagoodleader.

iiIdon'tknowthecauseoftheaccidentorhowmuchdamagewasdone.iii*We'releavingRomeandnextweek.

o In [i]wehavecoordinationbetweenanadjectivephraseandanounphrase,and in [ii]betweenanoun

phrase and a subordinate clause (an open interrogative content clause). These are acceptable becauseeachcoordinatecouldstandon itsownwith thesame function: inSheisverybright andShe isagoodleader the underlined units are both Predicative Complements, and in I don't know the cause of theaccidentandIdon'tknowhowmuchdamagewasdonetheyarebothComplements.

o But [iii] isunacceptable,even though thecoordinatesareof thesameclass,nounphrase,because thefunctional likeness condition is notmet. The function ofRome inWe're leaving Rome is Complement,whereasthatofnextweekinWe'releavingnextweekisAdjunct.

(c)Jointcoordination.Onespecialtypeofcoordinationisseenin[63]:



[63]a.SamandPatareahappycouple.b.SamPatandAlexlikeeachother.Whatisdistinctiveaboutthistypeisthatthepropertiesconcerned,beingahappycoupleandlikingeachother,apply to the coordinates jointly rather than separately.Sowe can't say *Sam isahappycouple or *Pat likeseachother. The functional likeness in this type is that the coordinatesdenotemembersof a set towhich therelevantpropertyapplies.Theconstruction ismorerestricted thanthe type illustrated in [61] in that itexcludesdeterminatives (*Both Sam and Pat are a happy couple), doesn't allow but as coordinator, and does requirelikenessofclassbetweentheccoordinates.15INFORMATIONPACKAGINGThegrammarof theclausemakesavailableanumberofconstructions thatenableus toexpressagivencoremeaning indifferentwaysdependingonhowwewish to topresentor `package' the information.Forexample,Kimbrokethevase,ThevasewasbrokenbyKim,ThevaseKimbroke,ItwasKimwhobrokethevase,WhatKimbrokewas the vase all have the samecoremeaning in the sense that there is no situationor context inwhichoneofthemwouldbetrueandanotherfalse(assumingofcoursethatwearetalkingofthesameKimandthesamevase).Thefirstofthem,Kimbrokethevase,isthesyntacticallymostbasic,whiletheothersbelongtovariousinformationpackagingconstructions.Themostimportantoftheseconstructionsareillustratedbytheunderlinedexamplesin[64]:

[64]NameExampleBasiccounterpartiPreposinga.Thisoneyoucankeep.b.Youcankeepthisone.iiPostposinga.I'velenttoJilltheonlycopyb.I'velenttheonlycopythatthathasbeencorrected.hasbeencorrectedtoJill.iiiInversiona.Inthebagwasagoldwatch.b.Agoldwatchwasinthebag.ivPassivea.ThecarwasdrivenbySue.b.Suedrovethecar.vExistentiala.Therewasadoctoronboard.b.Adoctorwasonboard.viExtrapositiona.It'sclearthatsheisill.b.Thatsheisillisclear.viiClefta.ItwasKimthatsuggestedit.b.Kimsuggestedit.viiiPseudoclefta.WhatIneedisacolddrink.b.Ineedacolddrink.ixDislocationa.It'sexcellent,thiscurry.b.Thiscurryisexcellent.

Inthefirstthreeweareconcernedsimplywiththeorderofelements,whiletheothersinvolvemoreradicalchanges.oThebasicpositionfortheComplementthisonein[i] isaftertheverb,but in[a] it ispreposed,placedat

thefrontoftheclause.oIn[ii]thebasicpositionfortheObject,theonlycopythathasbeencorrected,isjustaftertheverbbutlong

orcomplexelementslikethiscanbepostposed,placedattheend.oIn[iii]thepositionsoftheSubjectandComplementofthebasicversion[b]arereversedintheinversion

construction [a]. (Moreprecisely, this isSubjectDependent inversion, incontrast to theSubjectauxiliaryinversion construction discussed earlier. The Dependent is usually a Complement but can also be anAdjunct,asinThreedayslatercamenewsofherdeath.)

oIn[iv](theonlyonewherethebasicversionhasadistinctname,`active')theObjectbecomesSubject,theSubjectbecomesComplementofbyandtheauxiliarybeisadded.

o Theexistentialconstructionappliesmainlywiththeverbbe: thebasicSubject isdisplacedtofollowtheverbandthesemanticallyemptypronountheretakesovertheSubjectfunction.

oIn[vib]theSubjectisasubordinateclause(thatsheisill)in[a]thisisextraposed,placedaftertheverbphraseandthistimetheSubjectfunctionistakenoverbythepronounit.

oIn[vii]thecleftclauseisformedbydividingthebasicversionintotwoparts:one(Kim) ishighlightedbymakingitComplementofaclausewith itasSubjectandbeasverb,whiletheother isbackgroundedbyrelegatingittoasubordinateclause(adistinctsubtypeofrelativeclause).

oThepseudocleftconstructionissimilar,butthistimethesubordinatedpartisputinafusedrelative(what Ineed)functioningasSubjectofbe.

oDislocationbelongstofairlyinformalstyle.Itdiffersfromthebasicversioninhavinganextranounphrase,setapartintonationallyandrelatedtoapronouninthemainSubjectPredicatepartoftheclause.Intheleftdislocationvariant thepronounoccurs to the leftof thenounphrase inrightdislocation it is theotherwayround,asinHisfather,shecan'tstandhim.

Therearetwofurthercommentsthatshouldbemadeabouttheseconstructions.(a)Basiccounterpartneednotbecanonical.Forconveniencewehavechosenexamplesin[64]wherethebasiccounterpartsareall canonicalclauses,butofcourse theydonotneed tobe.Thebasic (active)counterpartofpassiveWas the car driven by Kim? isDid Kim drive the car?, which is noncanonical by virtue of beinginterrogative.LikewisethenoncleftcounterpartofItwasSuewhohadbeeninterviewedbythepoliceisSuehadbeen interviewed by the police, which is noncanonical by virtue of being passive: note then that certain



combinationsoftheinformationpackagingconstructionsarepossible.

(b) The informationpackaging construction may be the only option. The second point is that under certaincircumstanceswhatonewouldexpect tobe thebasiccounterpart is in factungrammatical.ThuswecansayThere was an accident, but not *An accident was: here the existential construction is the only option. Onedifferencebetweenactivesandpassivesisthatthebyphraseofthepassiveisanoptionalelementwhereastheelement that corresponds to it in the active, namely the Subject, is generally obligatory in finite clauses.Compare,then:[65]iPassivea.SomemistakesweremadebyEd.b.Somemistakesweremade.

iiActivea.Edmadesomemistakes.b.*Madesomemistakes.Passiveslike[ib]calledshortpassives thushavenoactivecounterpart.Theyareinfactthemorecommontypeofpassive,allowinginformationtobeomittedthatwouldhavetobeexpressedintheactiveconstruction.

[1]WrittenbyRodneyHuddleston&GeoffreyK.PullumincollaborationwithateamofthirteenlinguistsandpublishedbyCambridgeUniversityPressin2002.Ashorterversion,designedasanundergraduatetextbook,appearedin2005asAStudent'sIntroductiontoEnglishGrammar.IamgratefultoGeoffPullumandAnneHoranforcommentsonanearlierdraftofthispaper.

[2] InmyWords'Worth paper I relied simply on the convention of upper vs lower case initial to distinguish`determiner'asaclasstermand`Determiner'asafunctionterm.

[3]Weusebolditalicsforlexemeslexemeisamoreabstractconceptthanwordasitignoresinflection,sothatdo,does,did,etc.areallformsofasinglelexeme,do.

[4]Traditionalgrammaralsoclassifiesasparticiplesverbformswhichitregards(mistakenly,inourview)aspartofacompoundverb,suchascheckinginShewascheckingthefigures(cf.Section6.3.3).

[5]Infactthereisdividedusagehere,andsomespeakersdoallowmay inthisconstruction.Forthemitwouldseemthatmayandmightarenolongertreatedaspresentandpreteriteformsofasinglelexeme,butaspresenttenseformsofdistinctlexemes.

[6]Thisisthestandardterminology,butnotethatFunctionalGrammaruses`Attribute'forthemostcommontypeofPredicativeComplement.

[7]Intraditionalgrammaritisnotsheleftbutbeforesheleftthatisanalysedasaclause,withbeforebeinghereasubordinatingconjunctionratherthanapreposition.Wepresentargumentsinfavourofouranalysisonpp.101114and12930respectivelyofthetwobooksmentionedinfootnote1.WealsodepartfromtraditionalgrammarintreatingwordslikethoseunderlinedinComeinorIfelloffasprepositionsratherthanadverbs.

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Overview of English Syntax