English grammar

What are the main parts of speech?

• Noun

• verb

• article

• adjective

• adverb

• pronoun

• preposition.

What does an article do?

It introduces a noun.

What does an adjective do?

It describes a noun.

What does an adverb do?

It describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

What does a pronoun do?

It replaces a noun.

What is a noun phrase?

A phrase with a noun as its head.

What is a transitive verb?

A verb that needs a direct object.

What is a finite verb?

A verb that shows tense and person, e.g. I study.

What is a non-finite verb?

A verb without tense/person marking, e.g. studying (in I was studying)

Functions of noun phrases as complements of V

• Direct object: NP to the right of V(transitive verbs)

• Indirect object: First of two NPs following V or to/for phrase following Direct object

What is the basic sentence structur

NP – VP – (NP) – NP – (to/for-N).

S IO DO IO

What is passivisation?

Any complement noun phrase can become the subject.

All NP complements

• Subject complement

• Object complement

• Adverbial complement forms

What phrases can be a subject complement in a Noun Phrase

• Adjective phrase

• Noun Phrase

• Prepositional phrase

What phrases can be an object complement in a noun phrase

• adjective phrase

• adverbial phrase

what phrases can be adverbial complement forms(time, place, manner, intensifying) in a noun phrase

• Adverbial phrase

• prepositional phrase

• noun phrase

• adverbial clause

What is a subject complement?

An adjective phrase, noun phrase or prepositional phrase after a linking verb.

What is an object complement?

An adjective phrase or adverb phrase that describes the object.

What are connecting adverbs

Adverbs that link a clause to the previous one, e.g. however.

What are comment adverbs?

Adverbs that express the speaker’s opinion, e.g. fortunately.

What are adverbs of indefinite frequency?

Usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes, occasionally…

What are adverbs of certainty?

Maybe, perhaps, definitely…

What is mid position for adverbs?

Between subject and main verb or after be.

What are focusing adverbs?

Adverbs that highlight one part of the clause, e.g. only, even.

What are adverbs of manner

Adverbs that show how something happens, e.g. slowly, happily.

What are adverbs of completeness

Ex. completely, almost, nearly, quite, rather, partly, sort of, kind of, more or less, practically, scarcely, hardly

Where do emphasizing adverbs go

go directly before the words that they emphasise or ‘point to’. Ex. very, extremely, terribly, just(as a short time), almost, really, right

All adverbs in front position

• connecting adverbs(join a clause to what came before): Ex. ‘however’, not everybody agreed

• comment adverbs(speaker’s opinion of an action): Ex. fortunately, surprisingly

• Indef. frequency: usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes, ocassionally

• Adverbs of certainty: maybe, perhaps(others usually go in mid-position)

• Adverbs of time and place are possible at the beginning

All adverbs in mid position

• adverbs of indefinite frequency: Ex. my boss ‘often’ travels

• adverbs of certainty: Ex. i’ve ‘definetely’ decided to quit my job

• adverbs of completeness: Ex. completely, almost, nearly, quite, rather, partly, sort of, kind of, more or less, practically, scarcely, hardly

• Focusing adverbs: adverbs that ‘point to’ one part of a clause. Ex. also, just, even, only, mainly, mostly, either, or, neither, nor

• Adverbs of manner: Ex. angrily, happily, slowly

• Comment adverbs (sometimes, usually front position)

All adverbs in end position

• Adverbs of manner: Ex. she brushed her hair ‘slowly’

• Adverbs of place: Ex. the children are playing ‘upstairs’

• Adverbs of time: Ex. I phoned Alex ‘this morning’

• Adverbs of indefinite frequency: usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes, ocassionally (end position if they are main focus of the message. Ex. I go there ocassionally)

Different systems that nouns have

• Two-term number system: Singular/Plural

• Two-term case system: Unmarked/Marked

• Three-term gender system: Masculine/Feminine/Neuter

What is the number system of nouns?

Singular and plural.

What is the case system of nouns?

Unmarked and marked (genitive).

What is the gender system of nouns?

Masculine, feminine, neuter.

What semantic features do nouns have?

• Animate/inanimate

• human/non-human

• individual/collective

• countable/uncountable.

Which collective nouns always take plural verbs?

People, police, clergy, cattle, youth, etc.

Proper nouns that don’t use definite articles

• Personal Name(Ex.Timothy)

• Calendar Item(Ex. January)

• Geographical names(Ex. Belgium)

• Name+Common noun combination(Ex. Leicester Square)

Proper nouns that use definite articles

• Plural nouns(Ex. the Netherlands, the Callaghans)

• number of geographical names(Ex. the Sahara, the Thames)

• Names of public institutions or buildings(Ex. the Hilton, the Louvre) /

• Newspaper(Ex. the Times)

What are open class nouns?

Nouns with regular -s plurals.

What are closed class nouns?

Nouns with fixed or irregular forms.

Irregular forms of pluralization with closed class nouns

• Vowel change(Ex. goose/geese)

• -EN(Ex. ox/oxen)

• f→ve(Ex. knife/knives)

• Penny→Pennies(coin)/pence(value)

• Foreign plurals: -us→-i / -um→-a / -a→ae /-is→-es /-ex,-ix→-ices / …

Unmarked invariable nouns

1. syntactically singular: Ex. justice, bread, music

2. both S and P (ex. sheep)

3. syntactically plural: Ex. clergy, nobility, youth

Marked invariable nouns

1. syntactically singular: Ex. athletics, Naples

2. both S and P: Ex. barracks, headquarters

3. syntactically plural: Ex. surroundings, amends

Category of gender(nouns), categorized in classes

1. Gender-marking: Ex. prince/princess, duke/duchess

2. Gender-marking: Ex. prince/princess, duke/duchess

3. Both male/female human: Ex. artist, parent, sibling

4. Child/baby → neuter when not known/relevant

5. Higher mammals and birds: Ex. bull/cow, cock/hen, stallion/mare(M/F) or Ex. cat, horse, deer, rabbit, … (Neuter, unless explicit reference)

6. Higher mammals and birds: Ex. bull/cow, cock/hen, stallion/mare(M/F) or Ex. cat, horse, deer, rabbit, … (Neuter, unless explicit reference)

7. Lower animals: sex distinctions aren’t important

8. Inanimate nouns with affectionate relationship (Often feminine: Ex. ships, guns, cars)

How is the genitive singular formed for nouns

+’s

How is the genitive plural formed for nouns

+’s or +’(when ending in -s)

When is a genitive used as head

• Connection with residence (Ex. going to john’s)

• Reference to shops(Ex. the butcher’s),

• Elliptic Gen. (Ex. Susan’s car was bigger than Jane’s)

What is an elliptic genitive

Where noun is omitted. Ex. this pen is ali’s(pen)

what is a double genitive

combination s-genitive and the periphrasis of (Ex. a friend of my brother’s)

All kinds of pronouns

1. Personal pronouns

2. Possessive pronouns

3. Reflexive pronouns

4. Interrogative pronouns

5. Demonstrative pronouns

6. Relative pronouns

7. Reciprocal pronouns

8. Quantifier pronouns

What are personal pronouns

Nom/acc: I/me, you, he/him, she/her, it, we/us, they/them.

What are possessive pronouns?

Mine, yours,his-hers-its, ours, theirs.

What are reflexive pronouns?

S(+self): my-,your-,him-,her-,it-,one-. P(+selves):our-,your-,them-

Can’t be subject

what is a reflexive verb

verbs that always have a reflexive pronoun as a complement

What are interrogative pronouns

• Pronouns: who(+acc: whom,+gen: whose) / which(limited selection) / what

• Adverb: where, when, why, how(All: +ever)

What are demonstrative pronouns?

This, that, these, those.

What are relative pronouns?

• who(whom,whose)

• which

• that

• zero-pronoun

• as/but

• what

• relative adverbs: where/when/why

Replaces NP2 in a sentence with 2 broadly co-referential NPs

What are reciprocal pronouns?

each other / one another → can’t be subjects / replaces NP2 in two co-referential NPs

All quantifier pronouns

• All-inclusive: all, both, each, either, any, every(all +of) (any/every +body/one/thing)

• Exclusive/negative: Nobody, nothing, none(of), neither(of)

• Indefinite: some/any/either(+of, body, one), enough, multal-paucal group(much/many, more/most, (a)little/less, (a)few/fewers, several)

• pronoun one: indefinite one(any individual(of a group)), plural ones(PRO form), numeral one(quantifier)

• Cardinal numbers: definite total (ordinal numbers aren’t pronouns)

What are all-inclusive quantifier pronouns

all, both, each, either, any, every(all +of) (any/every +body/one/thing)

what are exclusive or negative quantifier pronouns

Nobody, nothing, none(of), neither(of)

What are indefinite quantifier pronouns

• some/any/either(+of, body, one)

• enough

• multal-paucal group(much/many, more/most, (a)little/less, (a)few/fewers, several

What are the 4 ways of using adnominals

• Modification: Restrictive / non-restrictive (ex. my old mother)

• Deixis

• Quantification

• Possession

4 categories of adnominals

1. Pre-determiners

2. Determiners

3. Adnominal adjectives / modifiers

4. Postposed adnominals

What are adnominals?

Words that modify or determine a noun.

All pre-determiners

• Quantifiers

• Intensifiers

• Wh-words

What are the quantifiers as pre-determiners

• All, both, many a

• Multipliers (Ex. double)

• Fractions (Ex. half, one-third

What are the intensifiers as pre-determiners

• rather

• quite(Adverb or Pre-determiner)

• so

• too

• as(as…as)

• such(also an Adjective)

what are the wh-words as pre-determiners

• what(ever)

• how(ever, +many/much)

• whose

• which

All determiners

• Deictics (this,these/that,those)

• Articles

• Quantifiers

• Possessive determiners

• Specifying Determiners

Articles as determiners

• Definite: The

• Indefinite: A/an

• Zero article: generic reference(Ex. cats have whiskers) / non-referential use / plural noun and non-count noun

quantifiers as determiners

• Some

• Any

• No

• Either

• Neither

• Every

• Each

Possessive determiners

• 1pS: My

• 1pP: Our

• 2p: your

• 3pS: his,her,its

• 3pP: their (+every:possible)

Specifying determiners

‘s-genitive that is a NP on it’s own

(+every:possible)

All adnominal adjectives / modifiers

1. Limiters

2. Evaluative Adj. (Ex. Awful)

3. Descriptive. Adj. → 1/ Size 2/ Shape 3/ Age 4/ Colour

4. Participles (+ing Ex. working) (+ed Ex. worked)

5. Provenance adjectives (Ex. English, London, American)

6. Defining modifiers (Ex. agricultural, medical)

7. Unmarked noun

Limiters as adnominal adjectives

• Deictic adjectives: Ex. certain, particular, ordinals, chief, main…

• Quantifiers: 1/ Cardinal numbers 2/ Multal/paucal group

Multal-paucal group as a quantifier as a limiter as an adnominal adjective

• little, less, least

• few, fewer, fewest

• many, more, most

Unmarked noun as an adnominal adjective

• Embedded unmarked noun (1/ Materials 2/ other unmarked nouns) (Ex. electronics group, law school)

• Classifying genitives: (Ex. child’s play, cat’s eye)

All postposed adnominals

• Embedded. Prepositional Phrase: Ex. in the garden, for my job (Restrictive. or non-restrictive)

• Adverbs: here, there, below, behind, yesterday, now, …

• Apposition: 2(+) co-referential NP: Ex. Alan, the chairman (Restr. or non-restr.)

• Adjectives: Ex. president-elect, Secretary General, proper, present, concerned, involved(Last 4, different preposed meanings)

What is apposition?

Two co-referential noun phrases side by side, e.g. Alan, the chairman.

What is a semi-adnominal

self-emphasizer: Ex. he himself, I want to read the book itself

Modifiers modified by an adverb

1. Intensifier: Ex. unusually large flat, highly interesting lecture

2. other adverbs: Ex. politically correct statement, often morbid sarcasm

Modifiers modified by an adjective

Embedded Unmarked Noun: Ex. old ‘car’ dump, old ‘car dump’

Modifiers modified by a noun

Embedded Unmarked Noun: Ex. woman ‘news commentator’, Rugby ‘league’ fixtures

Genitives and modifiers

Embedded specifying s-genitive: Ex. these young people’s dreams(These modifies young people’s and not dreams)

Kinds of adverbs

• connecting adverbs(join a clause to what came before): Ex. ‘however’, not everybody agreed

• comment adverbs(speaker’s opinion of an action): Ex. fortunately, surprisingly

• Indefinite frequency: usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes, ocassionally

• adverbs of completeness: Ex. completely, almost, nearly, quite, rather, partly, sort of, kind of, more or less, practically, scarcely, hardly

• Adverbs of certainty: maybe, perhaps

• Adverb of time

• Adverb of place

• Adverb of manner

• Focusing adverbs: adverbs that ‘point to’ one part of a clause. Ex. also, just, even, only, mainly, mostly, either, or, neither, nor