Introduction to
English Syntax
Syntax: The analysis of sentence structure
SENTENCES-What are the major properties of
a clause?
Each clause contains a finite verb; that is, a verb
marked for tense. Finite verbs are traditionally said to be marked for tense, person and
number.
In each clause, the finite verb is accompanied by
its complements and adjuncts.
Each clause is marked for aspect and the aspect
Each clause has mood.
Mood has to do with two sets of distinctions:
1. First, there are the distinctions between making statements (Wickham eloped with Lydia), asking
questions (Did Wickham elope with Lydia?), and issuing commands (Elope with Lydia!).
Clauses describe situations, the participants
in them (for example, Agents carrying out actions on Patients, as in Frank [Agent]
persuaded Jane [Patient] to keep the secret, and the circumstances in which they take
Main and subordinate clauses
Compound sentences consist of two or more
clauses joined by conjunctions.
Example:
1. Captain Benwick married Louisa Hayter and Captain Wentworth married Anne Elliott.
2. Henry Crawford loved Fanny but Fanny loved Edmund.
Subordinate clauses
Complex sentences consist of a main clause
and one or more other clauses subordinate to it. That is, one clause, the main clause, is
Complement clauses
A. Elizabeth regretted that she had met Wickham.
B. Catherine feared that the Abbey was haunted.
These clauses were traditionally called ‘noun clauses’, because they occur in slots in the main clause that can be occupied by ordinary
C. Complement clauses also occur to the left of verbs, as in:
"That Anne was in conversation with Mr. Elliott dismayed Captain Wentworth.“
D. The skeleton of the sentence above is “[ ] dismayed Captain Wentworth”, the square brackets marking the slot waiting for some constituent. The slot could be filled by a noun phrase such as “Her words” but in the
E. Complement clauses can modify a noun, as in:
“Fanny was delighted by the idea that she could subscribe to a library”
*The sequence “Fanny was delighted by the idea” is a
complete clause. The additional “that she could subscribe to a library” conveys the content of the idea. It is not
required to complete the syntax, but as we will see later it is not a relative clause and has been given the label
Other examples of noun complement clauses are:
1. Who thought up the proposal that the committee be abolished?
2. There was a plan that we would visit
Relative clauses
Complement clauses modify verbs and nouns;
relative clauses modify nouns.
In older descriptions, relative clauses are called
adjective clauses, reflecting the fact that adjectives also modify nouns.
Examples:
The cottage which Mrs Dashwood accepted was rather small. The gentleman who saved Mariannewas Willoughby.
The book which Marianne was reading contained poems by Cowper.
Adverbial clauses
The name ‘adverbial’ suggests that adverbial
clauses modify verbs; but they modify whole clauses.
Their other key property is that they are
adjuncts, since they are typically optional constituents in sentences.
They are traditionally classified according to
a. Reason
“Because Marianne loved Willoughby, she refused to believe that he had deserted her”.
b. Time
c. Concession
“Although Mr D’Arcy disliked Mrs Bennet he married Elizabeth.”
*The adverbial clause of concession in "Although Mr
D’Arcy disliked Mrs Bennet", conveys a concession. The writer says, as it were, ‘OK. I concede that he didn’t like Mrs Bennet. Nonetheless he married Elizabeth.’ The
d. Manner
“Henry changed his plans as the mood took him”
*The adverbial clause of manner in "as the
e. Condition
“If Emma had left Hartfield, Mr. Woodhouse would have been unhappy”
Complementizers and
subordinating conjunction
In grammars from before, say, 1965, the words introducing
complement clauses and adverbial clauses were generally known as "subordinating conjunctions", and words such as "and" or "but" were known as "coordinating conjunctions". Coordinating conjunctions join clauses that have the same status. Subordinating conjunctions introduce subordinate clauses.
Since 1965 or so, the term ‘complementizer’ has been used in
one of the major theories of syntax not just for subordinating conjunctions introducing complement clauses but for all
Recognizing clauses
A. Does it modify another clause? If it does, it is an ADVERBIAL CLAUSE.
B. Does it modify a verb? If it does, it is a (VERB) COMPLEMENT CLAUSE.
C(i) Is the subordinate clause introduced by a WH word such as who, which, where, or by a prepositional phrase such as in which? If it is, it is a relative clause.
C(ii) Is the subordinate clause introduced by that? If it is, it could be either a relative clause or a complement clause. If it is a relative
Final comment
In the above examples, the relative and
complement clauses are introduced by "that", "who" and "which". Relative and complement clauses often follow their head noun or verb directly, without a complementizer, as in:
1. I love the food they cook in the halls of residence.
2. A motorist has reported the road is blocked at Soutra Hill.
The lack of a complementizer does not affect
the rules of thumb.
Example (b) contains a verb complement
clause, "the road is blocked at Soutra Hill", which modifies "reported"; (a) contains a relative clause, "they cook in the halls of
residence", modifying "food"; and (c) contains a complement clause, "they might demolish the Appleton Tower", modifying the noun
Exercises
The following exercises contain sentences consisting of two or more clauses. Analyze each sentence into its clauses and state the type of each clause – main clause, adverbial clause (of reason, concession and so on),
A.
1. Jane believes that the earrings she got from Susan are real silver.
2. I’ll believe it when I see it.
3. If you think Scotland are ever going to win the European Championship, you must be a real optimist.
4. The article in which the theory was put forward is now unobtainable.
5. That Helen is to marry the man she met on holiday has surprised all her friends.
6. Celia did not say that you could keep the book that you borrowed.
7. Because you are flying non-stop, you will probably have severe jet-lag.
8. He promised that he would be here on time, though I find it difficult to rely on him.
9. The woman whose car you think you have dented is our MP.
10.That you don’t like my home-made vodka I find difficult to believe.
11.Since you think you are ready to sit the test, come along tomorrow.
B.
1. We regret that the plan is impracticable.
2. They accept the theory that the world is flat.
3. They accept the theory that the group proposed.
4. Did Fiona say who would be at the party?
5. Which of the candidates will be elected is quite unpredictable.
C.
1. Kirsty went out and forgot to switch off the gas fire.
2. We know that she wrote several novels and threw them away.
3. The editors who ignored the ban and printed the story might find themselves in prison.
4. If you go walking on the hills in winter and do not take proper equipment, you are
D.
1. They are pioneering a new geography in which they will establish when new races settled in particular regions.
2. A geneticist says the Pacific islands are an ideal testing ground for the theory that the Pacific was colonized from west to east.
3. The history begins with the day when the chief medical officer for Vanuatu noticed that a large number of people there suffered from anaemia.
4. He was advised to treat them with iron supplements so he
contacted scientists at Oxford who found that half of the donors suffered from alpha-thalassaemia, which is usually linked to the presence of malaria.
5. It seems that the gene protects against malaria, since carriers of the alpha 3.7 mutant will not die of malaria even if they contract a severe bout.
