Association for Scottish Literary Studies

Department of Scottish Literature, 7 University Gardens

University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QH
www.asls.org.uk

ASLS is a registered charity no. SC006535

First published 2009

© John Corbett and Christian J. Kay

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available

from the British Library

ISBN 978-0-948877-93-3

The Association for Scottish Literary Studies

acknowledges the support of the Scottish Arts Council
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Contents Page

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: Understanding Grammar

Chapter 2: Identifying Parts of Speech

Chapter 3: Describing Words

Chapter 4: More about Words

Chapter 5: Combining Words into Phrases

Chapter 6: Describing Complex Phrases

Chapter 7: Combining Phrases into Clauses

Chapter 8: From Clause to Complex Sentence

Chapter 9: Verb Systems

Chapter 10: Grammar and Close Reading

Suggested Answers to Activities

Further Reading

Index

2
Acknowledgements

This book is intended to introduce undergraduates, teachers and senior school pupils to
the formal study of grammar. An innovative feature of the book is that it draws its
evidence from contemporary Scottish writing and speech, as they are found in the
Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech (SCOTS) – www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk. The book
therefore serves as an introduction to the study of English as it is written and spoken in
Scotland today, with some comments on Broad Scots, literary and colloquial. The
SCOTS project benefited from a Resource Enhancement Grant awarded by the Arts and
Humanities Research Council (www.ahrc.uk). Fellow project members, particularly
Jean Anderson, Wendy Anderson and Dave Beavan, were generous in giving
suggestions that have improved the volume.

Earlier versions of this book have been used over many years with first and second-year
undergraduates at Glasgow University. The book is the basis for a course that involves
approximately 15 contact hours of lectures and small-group workshops, but it can also
be used as a reference book and for self-study. We are grateful to our colleagues and
students in the Department of English Language who have used the book, commented
on its strengths and weaknesses, and so helped us to refine it. From the perspective of
experienced school teachers, Lorna Smith and Ronald Renton of the Education
Committee of the ASLS provided welcome encouragement and valuable advice that
shaped the present version of the book. Flora Edmonds and Duncan Jones lent their
expertise to the production of the volume. The faults that remain are, needless to say,
our own responsibility.

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Chapter 1 Understanding Grammar

1.0 About this Book

1.1 What do we Mean by Grammar?
1.2 Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammars
1.3 Applying Grammatical Knowledge
1.4 Discussion Topics
1.5 Some Basic Corpus Searches
1.6 Activity

This Chapter outlines the general aims of this book, in particular introducing the
concepts of prescriptive and descriptive grammar in the context of language use in
Scotland. Language use in Scotland is characterised by a range of languages and
language varieties, including different kinds of spoken Broad Scots and a fairly uniform
standard variety of spoken and written English. Since our exploration of grammar in
Scotland draws on an electronic archive of Scottish texts that encompass a range of
language varieties, we need to explain whether this book is intended to inform its
readers about what should be said and written (i.e. prescriptivism), or if it is intended to
demonstrate what is said and written (i.e. descriptivism). A discussion of prescriptivism
versus descriptivism is a necessary preamble to any description of grammatical features
that draws upon evidence of the speech and writing of particular communities.

1.0 About this Book

This book has several aims:

• To introduce you to language investigation using the Scottish Corpus of Texts

and Speech (the SCOTS corpus: www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk), a freely-available
online web resource.
• To raise your skills and confidence in the analysis of sentences as they are
written – and also spoken – in Scotland today. Chapters 1-8 of this book cover
what is traditionally called ‘parsing’. Parsing involves looking closely at a
sentence or utterance, identifying the parts that make it up (i.e. its constituents)
and considering how these constituents are related to each other in words,
phrases, clauses and sentences.
• To give you a simple framework with which to think about the relationship
between meaning and grammatical form, particularly in relation to the verb
phrase (Chapters 9-12). As we shall see, the verb phrase is a key element in any
well-structured sentence, and the many forms of the verb phrase express a
multitude of subtle meanings.
• Chapter 13 looks at the application of the grammatical knowledge acquired in
this book to past SQA ‘Higher’ English examinations, particularly questions
that demand the close reading of unseen texts.

It is the first of the above aims that gives this grammar book its particular flavour.
Advances in computing technology began to make a considerable impact on language
studies in the early 1980s. For the first time, we can base our descriptions of language
on large-scale collections of ‘real’ data that can be searched quickly and easily. Before
the 1980s, descriptions of any language were based largely on the intuitions of the
analyst – sometimes, but not always, supported by a relatively modest collection of
usually written data that had been slowly assembled manually and painstakingly
classified. Centuries of intuition combined with the analysis of mainly written
documents afforded a rich set of theories and descriptions of language – but they were
nonetheless limited in nature. Current descriptions of language combine the virtues of
personal intuition about language behaviour with the availability of a powerful evidence

4
base that tells us an immense amount about what people actually do – not just what we
think they do.

The Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech is one of a new generation of electronic
archives. It is significant in size, at around four million words, and easily searchable for
examples of linguistic features. As its name suggests, it contains spoken language as
well as written, and so it offers the possibility of more comprehensive descriptions of
language activity in Scotland than have hitherto been attempted. The SCOTS corpus
includes many types of written and spoken text, from Scottish parliamentary
proceedings to excerpts from contemporary fiction, and from everyday conversation to
university lectures. The texts date from 1945 to the present day.

The main aim of this book is not, however, to present a comprehensive grammar of
language as it is used in Scotland. That would take a book several times the length and
complexity of this one! Its more modest aim is to give a brief guide to (i) how you can
begin to develop the descriptive skills necessary to understand the nature of the written
and spoken language you encounter in Scotland today, and (ii) how you can access the
SCOTS corpus to develop that knowledge. That is to say, this basic introduction to
grammatical analysis is informed by the SCOTS corpus. Many of the examples analysed
in this book are taken from its electronic archive of written and spoken texts. These
examples are shown in bold type. Of course, by removing them from their fuller
context, some of these examples might occasionally seem strange. If you want to find
out more about their original setting and see how they work in context, simply go to the
SCOTS home page and type any given example into the Quick Search box. Further
information about searching the SCOTS corpus is given in later in this Chapter.

A few words need to be said about what we mean by ‘language use in Scotland’ since
the situation is fascinating, complex, and frequently misunderstood. Speech and writing
in Scotland today is the result of a long and complicated history. Broadly speaking, we
can argue that part of that history involves contact between two distinct language

5
varieties – Broad Scots and standard Southern English – a contact that eventually
created a third variety: Scottish English. Language users in Scotland can make use of
any of these three varieties – Broad Scots, standard Southern English, Scottish English –
in their speech and writing. This linguistic flexibility can lead to various outcomes, for
example:

• Many people speak Broad Scots (at least in some situations) but use a standard
written variety that is in most instances indistinguishable from Southern
English, or indeed English written elsewhere.
• A smaller number choose to write in Broad Scots, often in poetry, fiction or
drama.
• Some speak or write a variety that inclines towards Southern English but retains
some traces of the Broad Scots system – this is what we would call Scottish
English.

In truth, of course, this summary simplifies the complexity of the speech situation in
Scotland, which includes contact among these three varieties and also other languages,
in particular Scottish Gaelic and ‘community languages’ such as Urdu, Chinese and
Polish, which have arrived with more recent immigration and settlement. In addition, the
mass media expose language users in Scotland to many other varieties of global English,
such as American and Australian English, as well as other varieties of English from the
British Isles. And we must not forget that language contact and variety is not confined to
spoken and written language – the Deaf community in Scotland has different varieties of
British Sign Language, a visual code that is influenced by communicative practices
locally, and further afield. And all these languages and language varieties are
continually changing, in part as a consequence of mutual exposure.

Clearly, not even the 4 million words of the SCOTS corpus can capture all this
complexity, but focusing our attention on authentic data from contemporary Scottish
speech and writing has the virtue of locating us in the realm of what is actually said and
written in the country today.

1.1 What do we Mean by ‘Grammar’?

The word ‘grammar’ is one of the most loaded terms in the language. It also means
different things to different people. The word is most commonly understood to refer to
the way language is used in general. Many people feel strongly that there is a right way
of using language, and a wrong way. The ‘right’ way of using language is considered
‘grammatical’ and the ‘wrong’ way is considered ‘ungrammatical’. According to this
view, learning ‘grammar’ means learning how to use language ‘properly’.

Let us consider this view for a moment. Look at the following sentences and ask
yourself which you would consider to be grammatically incorrect. (As noted above,
examples taken from the SCOTS corpus are given in bold type. The example sentences
in each chapter are numbered.) Then, ask yourself why you have come to this decision:

1. Parliamentary Committees will be required to formally declare any

interests which they may have.
2. I seen there was a message on your phone.
3. ‘I do wish you’d find another crowd to run with.’
4. This the something scrambled words all seems have to in sentence.

Most people would argue that (2) and (4) are grammatically incorrect, but if you think
about it, they are ‘incorrect’ for different reasons.

6
First of all, sentence (4) simply does not make sense; in order to be understood, the
words would have to be rearranged, to make something like Something seems to have
scrambled all the words in this sentence. This tells us something fundamental about
grammar – namely, that the order of words is important for our understanding. To make
sense, words have to be arranged according to certain rules, which in turn suggests that
they relate to each other in specific ways. For example, a word like ‘the’ has to precede
a word like ‘words’ rather than a word like ‘seems’. Sentence (4) does not follow these
rules, and so it is ungrammatical.

Example (2), however, does make sense. The issue here is with the expression ‘I seen’.
This expression is comprehensible, and indeed, especially in cities like Glasgow, Belfast
and, in this case, Aberdeen, many people say things like ‘I seen’, ‘He’s went’, ‘She’s ran
away’ and ‘I’ve swam’. There are over twenty examples of I seen recorded in the
SCOTS corpus. However, fewer people would write these phrases, and a glance at the
corpus examples shows that the only written examples are indeed in literary texts that
seek to represent spoken forms. The reason for this distinction between the conventions
of speech and the conventions of writing is that there are different dialects or varieties of
English. One of these dialects is associated with the written word, which itself
influences ‘educated’ speech: this dialect is usually referred to as ‘standard English’.
According to the conventions of standard English, I seen is unacceptable, and the
‘correct’ form should be I saw. Sentence (2) is ungrammatical, then, if your point of
reference is this educated, mainly written, variety of English.

However, as is evident from the SCOTS corpus, many people say things like I seen and
even if their usage is frowned upon by some others, they still manage to be understood.
If a language variety can be understood, then it too must, like standard English, be
governed by rules and conventions that allow its speakers to make sense of it. In this
technical sense, non-standard varieties of English and all the dialects of Scots are
grammatical, and their grammars can be described. In short, we can say that forms like I
seen are ungrammatical with respect to the written dialect of standard English, but they
are grammatical with respect to the everyday usage of many Scottish speakers.

Sentences (1) and (3) are possibly more controversial. Many people would regard them
as grammatical, even in terms of standard English, and pass them by without further
comment. A few, however, might pause and argue that both are in fact ungrammatical.
Why should this be so?

Sentence (1) contains an example of ‘a split infinitive’. The problem here, for some, is
that the phrase ‘to declare’ (the infinitive) has been ‘split’ by the word ‘formally’.
Traditionally, teachers of standard English grammar used to argue that the infinitive –
expressions like ‘to go’, ‘to swim’, ‘to speak’, and so on – should not be split, or
separated, by the insertion of other words like ‘boldly’, ‘quickly’ or ‘loudly’. The
expression, ‘to boldly go’, beloved of Star Trek fans, is therefore grammatically
incorrect – if you believe traditionalists.

The problem with Sentence (3) is that it ends with the word ‘with’. (This example is
taken from Sheena Blackhall’s short story, ‘The Fower Quarters 02: Purity’.) ‘With’ is a
member of a class of little words called prepositions. Traditionalists might argue that
grammatical sentences should never end with prepositions. You can possibly place the
preposition earlier in the sentence, revising it as ‘I do wish you’d find another crowd
with which to run’. That little change might keep the traditionalist happy, though it
might in fact lead to an awkward, stiffer, more formal-sounding sentence that few
people would actually say aloud or write.

7
However, most people would probably feel that the rules that make Sentences (1) and
(3) seem ungrammatical to the traditionalist are unjustified. Eloquent speakers and
writers of standard English have been splitting infinitives and ending sentences with
prepositions for centuries. Where are the traditionalists getting their rules from, then?
The answer is that the ‘tradition’ which they are relying on is only about 250 years old.
During the eighteenth century, teachers started writing down the rules of standard
English grammar for use in schools. They had no readily-available models for doing
this, so they went to what they knew best: the rules of Latin, then the most respected
language in Europe, and the language most closely associated with education since the
Middle Ages.

English grammarians, then, assumed that all other languages should follow the model of
Latin. In Latin grammar, the infinitive is not made up of two words; it is only one word,
such as amare (‘to love’). Since you cannot normally split a single word, the rule about
not splitting infinitives was born. Similarly, no Latin writer could end a sentence with a
preposition – Latin simply doesn’t work like that – so that rule was also transferred to
English schoolbooks by eighteenth-century grammarians and teachers. Few teachers and
grammarians today would apply the rules of one language to another – however, certain
traditionalists continue to apply the criteria devised by eighteenth-century language
experts to present-day speech behaviour. There is no doubt that there is some
satisfaction in attending to and following traditional rules of language behaviour that
mark one out as a member of an educated elite; equally, by refusing to follow such rules,
speakers and writers can signal their resistance to what may be regarded as elitism.
Grammatical usage, and the teaching of grammar, have thus been drawn into the class
war.

By now it will be clear that the terms ‘grammatical’ and ‘ungrammatical’ are used in
different ways:

(i) to refer to the way words are put together to make sense;
(ii) to refer to the conventions governing a standard dialect only;
(iii) to refer to a traditional set of rules of language behaviour, formulated in the
eighteenth century, and used today, by some, as the basis of a kind of
linguistic etiquette.

This book is concerned with the first of these points. It introduces you to basic
grammatical concepts and trains you in a method of grammatical analysis that is
systematic and suitable for complete beginners. The book assumes that you have had no
previous experience of studying English grammar formally. However, as well as giving
you a basic grounding in grammatical terms and methods of analysis, this book will
prepare you to study grammatical theory further, if you wish to do so. If you have
studied some grammar before, some of the procedures used here may seem unusual;
however, many will be familiar and should only require a little adaptation from the
descriptive procedures you already know.

1.2 Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammars

In focusing on the first of the three meanings of ‘grammar’ noted above, we shall be
attempting to devise a framework of concepts and ‘rules’ that allow us to analyse
sentences and utterances that make sense. The concepts and ‘rules’ of our grammar
describe what people actually do in order to be understood, not what they should do in
order to be socially acceptable, though we touch on that topic in passing here and there.
Because our main goal will be description, we can call our model of language behaviour
a descriptive grammar. This name distinguishes our grammar from a set of rules which

8
must be followed if a person wishes to be thought of as ‘educated’. Such a set of
regulations is usually called a prescriptive grammar.

At first glance, a descriptive grammar might seem much less useful than a prescriptive
grammar. Many people, for example learners of English as a First, Second or Other
Language, might reasonably wish to use a prescriptive grammar to help them gain
access to the prestigious standard variety of English. Many teachers, pupils and students
actively demand firm guidance on what is grammatically ‘correct’ and what is not. So
why would anyone simply wish to describe what people do ‘naturally’? There are a
number of possible answers to this question. Most of them assume that there is more to
language than a written, standard variety.

Describing Language Varieties

First of all, it is useful for the student or teacher of English to have even a basic
understanding of the processes involved in describing and accounting for actual
language behaviour. Anyone who is studying language as it is used in everyday life will
come across expressions like:

5. Give it him.
6. Give it to him.
7. Ye didnae have wardrobes or presses in them days.
8. It was a smaller town in those days.

The prescriptive grammarian would simply ask which of the above conforms to the
conventions of standard English. The prescriptive grammarian would therefore argue
that (6) and (8) – and possibly (5), which is common in British English but not found in
the SCOTS corpus – are correct and acceptable. Example (7) breaks several rules from
the perspective of standard English: it has a non-standard negative particle, -nae, and it
uses them rather than those to identify days. A descriptive grammarian, on the other
hand, would assume that all four examples are equally grammatical, and he or she would
investigate the different rules governing each. He or she might then go on to ask which
groups of people systematically use these rules and when. The descriptivist explorer of
language may then come to a deeper understanding of how language varies according to
speech community and situation.

English and Scots are often thought of as being on a language continuum. This means
that they are mutually intelligible varieties of language, and there is no absolute point
where one shades into the other. Much of the SCOTS corpus contains, at one end of the
continuum, many texts in written standard English, as in this excerpt from Scottish
Parliamentary records:

9. Organised crime continues to flood our streets with drugs, challenging the
ability of our police to keep order. Any regulation of investigatory powers
must therefore put the right of the individual and society to be free from
fear of intimidation and drugs before the rights of any individual involved
in illegally disrupting lives through the pursuit of organised criminal
activity.

At the other end of the continuum, there are texts in the SCOTS corpus in a dense,
localised Broad Scots. The following short story, ‘Dirty Beasts’ by Alexander Fenton,
from the collection Craiters, contains many Scots forms that imitate speech (e.g. in the
spellings of cd for could and mn for maun ‘must’):

9
10. Ere wis a lot o history in at wid, an in e palins roon aboot it. Ye niver jist
kent fit new thing ye mith come upon. Een o ma ploys fin I wis a loon wis
tae set weer snares – e great hunter, ye ken – fae e nethmist straans o e
palins faar I cd see e rabbits’ runs. Weel, we’d a cat eence aboot e craft, a
great big strippit beast caad Timoshenko. It wis ill for wannerin miles oot
aboot, seein till its ain gamekeepin. Ae time it wis tint for days, till it
managet tae get craalt hame wi a snare roon its neck. It likely used up
mair’n some o its lifes on at expedeetion, an it mn a been lyin somewye tit-
tittin at e weer for days an nichts or it knackit e straans, een be een, an won
lowse.

Excerpts (9) and (10) are situated at extreme ends of the standard English-Broad Scots
language continuum. In between, where most speech and writing occurs, we find texts in
the hybrid Scottish English, often shifting backwards and forwards between the two
poles, as in example (11), an excerpt from a family letter by Madge Law, which,
although it is written largely in standard English, shifts towards broader Scots in the
final paragraph:

11. Remember what I told you don’t bring any towels or lots of luggage I’ve got
plenty of towels and your clothes can all be washed and dried here. I’ve been
to the supermarket and bought plenty of flour, I thought you might fancy
making some cakes here if the weather is wet. The weather hasn’t been very
good through June until now so lets hope its a bit nicer by the time you get
here.

Well I’ll say ta ta for noo and we will have a good blether when you both
come.

Since many language users in Scotland shift between English and Scots when speaking
and writing, the designers of the SCOTS corpus have not labelled their documents as
being in one or the other language variety. The methods of grammatical analysis
described in this book apply equally to both varieties of language.

Comparing Languages
Some teachers and students of language might be interested in comparing the rules of
English to those governing other languages, such as French, Polish, Chinese or Arabic.
As noted above in relation to eighteenth-century grammarians and Latin, you cannot
simply apply the rules of one language to another. The way different languages put
words together to express meaning can be quite different, and often revealing of the
mind-set of another culture. For example, consider why in English the following
expressions are considered acceptable or unacceptable (throughout this book, an asterisk
(*) indicates an unacceptable word, phrase or sentence). Then think about how you
would explain to an overseas learner of English when to use the word much and when to
use the word many.

12. they widnae be tempted tae eat too much rabbit

13. a mind heated with too much study of romantic English literature
14. *…they widnae be tempted tae eat too many rabbit
15. *…a mind heated with too many study of romantic English literature
16. There are far too many private conversations going on…
17. It emerged that too many youngsters were failing…
18. *There are far too much private conversations going on…
19. *It emerged that too much youngsters were failing…

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The answer is that there is a grammatical rule in English governing the use of much and
many:

• many is used to quantify items that can be counted, like youngsters, or

conversations.
• much is used to quantify items that are uncountable because they are generally
conceptualised as abstract masses. Here, ‘study’ is clearly an abstract concept,
and even, in context, ‘rabbit’ is being conceptualised as a mass, not a concrete,
individual animal.

Some things, like ‘rabbit’, can be conceptualised either way: think of how your mental
image changes if you have eaten ‘too much chocolate’ (mass) or ‘too many chocolates’
(individual countable items), or even ‘too much rabbit’ (mass) or ‘too many rabbits’
(individual countable items). We return to this topic in more detail in Chapter 4.

English grammatical rules, such as this one about how to quantify mass and countable
items, might be found in other languages, but they might not. A multitude of rules
governing the classification of objects is possible. In Chinese languages, objects are
classified according to whether they are long or short, while in some Australian
aboriginal languages, objects are classified according to whether or not they are
dangerous. Many meanings – like mass/countable, dangerous/safe – can be encoded into
a grammar, but the meanings that are encoded and those that are not vary from culture to
culture, and the descriptive grammarian should be aware of this fact, and expect
diversity.

Accounting for Language Change

So far we have considered different languages and different dialects of a single
language, but even a single variety can change over time. English and Scots have
changed quite substantially over the past millennium. An example of this is the virtual
loss of the subjunctive mood in contemporary English, a topic that is covered in Chapter
9 of this book. A descriptive grammarian looks at the ways that grammatical patterns
encode meanings in earlier versions of the language, and tries to relate these earlier
patterns of structure and meaning to present-day usage.

Theories of Grammar
It would be a mistake to assume that the grammar of English is somehow ‘out there’,
waiting to be discovered. A grammar, after all, is a human construction, and people
make things in different ways for different reasons. Consequently, there are many
grammars of English. However, all grammars of English assume that the language is
structured, that it is governed by rules that account for the ordering of certain
constituents – that is, bits and pieces of language – so that they make sense. But, after
that, theories of grammar can diverge quite markedly. Some grammarians are mainly
concerned with finding valid methods for discovering the acceptable and unacceptable
patterns of a particular language. Their hope is that if you apply these methods to given
linguistic data, a comprehensive profile of the structures used in the language should
become clear. Since these grammars are concerned with structures, they are called
structuralist grammars.

Other grammarians have different agendas. Some assume that language is the result of
an instinct, of a natural predisposition to speak, which is part of the mental make-up of
every normal human being. These grammarians believe that if they can devise a set of
rules that will not simply describe but also generate acceptable sentences, then they will
have discovered a model not just of language, but of a basic human mental process.
Such grammarians devise abstract and complex rules that will generate sentences and

11
transform one sentence into another. These sets of rules are called transformational-
generative grammars. They are associated particularly with the American thinker Noam
Chomsky, one of the best-known intellectuals of the present day, famous for his political
as well as his linguistic writings.

Since the 1970s, cognitive grammar has been associated with a group of American
linguists, including Wallace Chafe, Charles Fillmore, George Lakoff and Ronald
Langacker. Cognitive grammar theorises about the psychological bases of linguistic
structures. Unlike those who work in the Chomskyan tradition, cognitive grammarians
focus less on devising rules that generate grammatical structures, and more on the ways
that grammatical structures encode meanings.

A further set of grammarians views language as a vast and complicated system of

choices. The choices made by a speaker are selected in order to accomplish a particular
function in a given social context. Systemic-functional grammarians are interested in
making models of the language system, and explaining how linguistic choices are
related to sets of social functions. These grammars are associated particularly with the
linguist Michael Halliday, whose work became influential from the 1960s onwards,
particularly in Britain and Australia.

More recently, corpus grammarians such as Mike McCarthy and Ronald Carter have
followed pioneers such as John Sinclair, and used vast electronic archives of
contemporary speech and writing to devise accounts of English that are ‘driven by the
data’, not by grammatical theories. The present book is a modest contribution to this
new tradition in descriptive linguistics.

One result of all this grammatical theorising is that no two grammar books are exactly
the same. This fact is often frustrating for the beginner, who picks up one book to try to
clarify an obscure point in another, only to find that a whole new set of approaches and
jargon has to be learnt. There is no easy answer to this problem – with time and
experience, though, the basic principles of grammatical analysis will become more
familiar to you, and the theoretical assumptions of other writers on grammar should fall
more readily into place.

This book does not seek to discuss grammatical theories. Although we draw upon
certain models of language as the basis of our analyses, in this book we aim to guide the
beginner in a set of techniques that will help him or her to identify parts of speech and
analyse fairly simple sentences. This process of identification and analysis is
traditionally called ‘parsing’, and parsing is the focus of the first part of this book.

1.3 Applying Grammatical Knowledge

Some people are interested in describing grammar not for its own sake, but in order to
apply it to related disciplines, such as literary studies. Grammatical description is crucial
to the procedures used in those human sciences that demand precise descriptions of
communicative behaviour, for example literary and media studies, history, sociology,
education and philosophy. A literary critic, for example, will use his or her knowledge
of grammatical analysis to explore how a writer chooses to make meanings, and s/he
will be able to draw upon this grammatical knowledge to give a detailed account of how
meanings are constructed in literary texts. Many modern poems use repeated
grammatical structures as the basis of the line of verse; one such poem is Edwin
Morgan’s ‘A View of Things’ (for an electronic version of this text, see the Scottish
Poetry Library’s website: www.edwinmorgan.spl.org.uk/poems/view_of_things.html).

12
Morgan’s poem can be discussed in several ways; one approach would be to look at its
grammar. Each line of the poem is a complete grammatical unit, alternating as follows:
what I love about A is its B
what I hate about C is its D
The poem progresses as a series of complete grammatical units expressing the speaker’s
love or hate of the unpredictable features of apparently random things, the reader begins
to build up a fuller, very idiosyncratic ‘view of things’. In other words, the reader begins
to see the world through the eyes of another, rather quirky, persona. This destabilisation
of perspectives is one of the pleasures of much modern poetry.
But there is another characteristic of the grammatical choice that gives each line of this
poem its characteristic structure. The opening lines of the poem could be rewritten as:

I love the size of dormice

I hate the sneer of rain

So what is the difference between the grammatical choice of:

I love the B of A
and
What I love about A is its B

The answer is that the latter type of grammatical construction expresses a sense of
exclusivity – the implication is that, for the speaker or writer, the only or most important
thing about dormice is their size. The former, less exclusive, construction allows the
speaker or writer to say ‘I love the size of dormice…amongst many other things I love
about them’. The poet needs the exclusivity of the ‘what I love/hate about A…’
structure, in order to press home the individual strangeness of his view of things.
Meanings, then, depend on grammatical choices. We can explore grammatical choices
in many ways, one of the most productive being rephrasing utterances to show what
other choices are possible. Another – very powerful – way of exploring grammar and
meaning is to take a grammatical unit, strip it down to its essential components, and then
examine how these components combine to make sense. That skill is what this book
seeks to teach.

1.4 Discussion Topics

By now you should have a clear idea of what is meant by a descriptive and prescriptive
grammar, you should be aware of the aims of this book, and you should be able to give
some possible reasons why a basic understanding of grammar can be useful, even
fascinating! Before we start looking in more detail at the techniques of grammatical
description we are going to encounter in this book, consider the following passages, (i)
to (iv), and then try some simple SCOTS corpus searches.

Attitudes to grammar
Texts (i-iv) are a collection of statements about English grammar, made by a variety of
commentators. Look back at the general meanings of ‘grammar’ discussed above, and

13
decide which meaning (if any!) these commentators assume that their readers share. Do
you agree with their arguments?

(i) Norman Tebbit, politician (1985), quoted in D. Graddol & J. Swann (1988)
‘Trapping Linguists’ in Language and Education, 2, pp. 95-111
If you allow standards to slip to the stage where good English is no better than
bad English, where people turn up filthy...at school...all those things tend to cause
people to have no standards at all, and once you lose standards then there’s no
imperative to stay out of crime.

(ii) John Simon, theatre and film reviewer (1980), quoted in S. Pinker, (1994) The
Language Instinct London: Penguin. Simon is writing on Black English
Vernacular:
Why should we consider some, usually poorly educated, subculture’s notion of the
relationship between sound and meaning? And how could a grammar – any
grammar – possibly describe that relationship?

As for ‘I be’, ‘you be’, ‘he be’, etc., which should give us all the heebie-jeebies,
these may indeed be comprehensible, but they go against all accepted classical
and modern grammars and are the product not of a language with roots in history
but of ignorance of how language works.

(iii) John Rae, headmaster of Westminster School (1982), quoted in J. & L. Milroy
(1985), Authority in Language London: Routledge
The overthrow of grammar coincided with the acceptance of the equivalent of
creative writing in social behaviour. As nice points of grammar were mockingly
dismissed as pedantic and irrelevant, so was punctiliousness in such matters as
honesty, responsibility, property, gratitude, apology, and so on.

(iv) Anthony Lejune, letter to the Daily Telegraph (1985), quoted in V. Shephard,
(1990) Language Variety and the Art of the Everyday London: Pinter
...a language teacher at the University of Bath...wrote that standard (i.e.) correct
English has no ‘inherent superiority’. But it has. Correct grammar and syntax and
the accurate use of words derive not only from history and custom but from logic.
They are the mortar which holds our thoughts together. When they crumble, so
does our capacity for thought.

1.5 Some Basic Corpus Searches

Let’s say that you wished to use the SCOTS corpus to investigate the use of standard
and non-standard occurrences of a particular expression, such as ‘I saw/seen’.

The quickest way is to go to www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk and type the expression you

wish to look at in the ‘Standard Search’ menu.

14
This search will look for all instances of ‘I seen’ in the 4-million word corpus, including
all spoken and written documents. The results page will look something like this (as the
corpus is periodically updated, results may change from time to time):

The results for this search shows that the sequence ‘I seen’ appears in 25 documents in
the corpus, ranging from spontaneous speech to a written diary and parliamentary
proceedings. However, on closer inspection, several documents mentioned can be
discounted, since ‘I seen’ appears not only as a variant of ‘I saw’ but as part of a larger,
formal inverted construction, where ‘have/had’ appears before the ‘I’. This is also true
of several of the written documents listed, e.g.

20. Never have I seen a bruised face like it.

21. nor had I seen the newspaper report.

15
22. What visions have I seen!

Of the remaining documents, some are written documents that happen to be first-person
narratives in Broad Scots:

23. Yon red squirrel I seen speed across the Muchty road.
24. it wis aa chokit up wi growth, an I seen desertit it for e parks.

Example (24) looks decidedly odd, and, sure enough, on closer inspection it is clear that
this text is not only in Broad Scots, but it is written in North-East Scots. Example (24)
gives an instance of southern ‘oo’ becoming ‘ee’: the sense is that the speaker soon
deserted a cart-track for the fields.

The remaining examples of ‘I seen’ are either in spontaneous speech or in the dialogue
of fictional narratives. By far the most common occurrence of ‘I seen’ in a single
document is in one of the recordings of spontaneous speech, between two students
conversing about leisure activities. Here the expression occurs five times, roughly 0.51
times per 1000 words:

25. Oh right, I I seen there was a message on your phone

26. I was quite annoyed, but erm I seen like this huge big punchbag
27. and I went in and I seen the the tenner
28. and I seen them pullin the wee barriers across
29. And then I seen the guy

Let’s now compare this search with a similar search for ‘I saw’. A standard search finds
the results shown below. There are many more instances of ‘I saw’ than ‘I seen’ in the
SCOTS corpus as a whole. ‘I saw’ currently appears 127 times in 79 documents, i.e. in
fiction, spontaneous conversation, personal letters, email correspondence, weblogs and
parliamentary proceedings. ‘I saw’ appears in documents in Broad Scots as well as in
English, in dialogue as well as in narrative sections of text. A few of the occurrences are
as follows. Examples (30) to (33) are written, and examples (34)-(36) are from
recordings of speech.

16
30. suddenly I saw the British educational policy for the next four years
31. I saw the STOP programme when we visited the unit in Barlinnie
32. As I cam doon bi Ythanside I saw a fruit bat hingin
33. because I saw how much agony I was puttin him through
34. And eh [tut] I saw an advert in the Courier office
35. you know, I saw the two things side by side

What observations, then, can we make from these two simple searches, intended to
compare the use of ‘I saw’ and ‘I seen’? The first, obviously, is that searches cannot be
purely mechanical. Of the 25 apparent instances of ‘I seen’ in the SCOTS corpus, three
have to be discarded since they are part of the formal construction ‘have/had I seen’ and
not therefore variants of ‘I saw’. One further instance of ‘seen’ is a phonetic spelling of
the North-East Scots pronunciation of ‘soon’. So we only have 21 instances of ‘I seen’
in the archive. Many of these instances are in a single document, a spontaneous
conversation between two students, and the others occur in speech or written dialogue.
‘I seen’, therefore, is strongly associated with speech in Scotland, and despite the fact
that it can appear frequently in the conversation of some speakers, it is still relatively
infrequent when compared to ‘I saw’.

‘I saw’ is very much more frequent than ‘I seen’, occurring five times for each
occurrence of ‘I seen’. It is not confined to speech or the written representation of
speech, and it even occurs in Broad Scots speech and writing. It occurs in a wide range
of written genres. In general, the evidence suggests that it is the preferred form in
Scotland.

Do these results mean that ‘I seen’ is wrong? The descriptive linguist would resist
framing the question in terms of absolute rightness or wrongness. Rather, he or she
would point to the evidence and indicate that ‘I seen’ is used by a minority of speakers
in informal conversation, and by writers of fiction who wish to represent informal
conversation. The speakers who use it in these cases use it relatively frequently, but
consistently and meaningfully. Its use possibly signals an aspect of their personal
identity – at some level of consciousness they may wish to distance themselves from the
formal norms preferred by the education system, or they may simply wish to sound
informal and friendly. But ‘I seen’ is very infrequent outside the context of informal
speech. Compared to ‘I saw’ its use in formal writing in the SCOTS corpus is negligible.
These kinds of results allow the descriptive linguist to suggest that the use of ‘I seen’
outside speech would be inappropriate. But, since the descriptive linguist is also a
cautious animal, he or she would add the proviso that attitudes to language do gradually
shift. If more speakers wish to mark their personal identity by using ‘I seen’, then its use
will probably expand from informal to more formal speech, and from speech to writing.
If that occurs, ‘I seen’ would be regarded as ‘correct’ and ‘I saw’ as old-fashioned, or
even ‘quaint’.

1.6 Activity
One change in the language that is currently happening relates to certain words like
‘team’ and ‘class’ that can be thought of as either singular or plural; that is, we can say:

The team or class is…

The team or class are…

Look at the Standard Search menu for the SCOTS corpus at www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk
and try to figure out which is the preferred form in today’s Scotland. You can use the
Standard Search menu to restrict your search to spoken or written documents, and
compare results. Remember to treat the raw results with care!

17
18
Chapter 2 Identifying Parts Of Speech

2.0 About this Chapter

2.1 What is ‘Parsing’, and Why do They Say Such Terrible Things about It?
2.2 Meaning
2.3 Form
2.4 Function
2.5 Putting it All Together
2.6 Review Activities: Thinking about Meaning, Form and Function

2.0 About this Chapter

This Chapter begins to focus on the basic principles of grammatical analysis, otherwise
known as ‘parsing’. First, we give a brief overview of different levels of grammatical
structure (sentence – clause – phrase – word – morpheme). Then we consider in more
detail the three criteria used to classify grammatical units – namely meaning, form and
function – by looking at how these criteria combine in the classification of different
kinds of word.

2.1 What is ‘Parsing’, and Why do They Say Such Terrible Things about It?
The process of taking a sentence and breaking it down into ever smaller units of
structure is traditionally called ‘parsing’. A glance at the citations given for this word in
the Oxford English Dictionary gives a sense of how parsing has been viewed over the
centuries. Its first recorded appearance in the English language is in a text called The
Schoolmaster, published around 1568, and early references are to the identification of
grammatical items in Latin and Greek, as well as in English. By 1908, L. M.
Montgomery is writing, in the classic Canadian children’s novel, Anne of Green Gables,
that ‘They had studied Tennyson’s poem in school the preceding winter... They had
analyzed and parsed it and torn it to pieces in general’. Montgomery’s scepticism about
the value of analysis, parsing and ‘generally tearing to pieces’ is clear, and anticipates a
general turn against such practices later in the 20th century. As the OED citations show,
by 1992 the New York Times Book Review can state that ‘It has been a very long time
since anyone parsed a sentence in public’. Scotland is not alone, then in having
displaced parsing from its central role in English teaching; however, there are many
arguments in favour of reconsidering its value.

That said, there is no escape from the fact that parsing is a subtle and demanding
practice. Of course it can be done tediously and mechanically, without sensitivity to the
ways in which utterances and sentences convey meanings in context. Moreover, like
most complex and rigorous practices, parsing can inspire fear in those who have not
been initiated into its mysteries. However, given some systematic practice, if the
meaning of examples is taken into consideration, parsing can be an accessible, useful
and even empowering skill. This Chapter shows you how to begin to acquire it.

Let us take, for example, a sentence uttered by a young child to her father. (As usual, the
illustrations in bold type are taken from actual utterances or writings recorded in the
SCOTS corpus. Examples are numbered within each Chapter.)

1. Yes I am quite good at drawing, because I can draw a little funny face!

Even at her early stage of development, this child has mastered a sentence that is made
up of two units, which we will shortly learn to call clauses:

(a) Yes I am quite good at drawing (b) because I can draw a little funny face!

19
Each of these clauses, in turn, is made up of a sequence of phrases. Note that the
technical use of the term ‘phrase’ in grammatical analysis differs slightly from its more
general use. ‘Phrase’ generally means more than one word, whereas, when performing a
grammatical analysis, we take a phrase to be one or more related words. For reasons that
will soon be explained, the words ‘Yes’ and ‘because’ fall outside the boundaries of any
phrase, and so the child’s utterance can be further broken down as:

Yes (i) I (ii) am (iii) quite good (iv) at drawing

because (v) I (vi) can draw (vii) a little funny face!

Phrases, in their turn, are made up of individual words:

Yes + I + am + quite + good + at + drawing + because + I + can + draw + a + little +

funny + face!

We could take our grammatical analysis one step further and look at the little
grammatical units that make up words, namely ‘morphemes’. For example, we could
further divide drawing into two morphemes: draw + ing. Morphemes are the smallest
unit of grammar. Some words, like good, consist of a single morpheme, while others are
made up of two or more. Therefore, when we consider grammar as a whole, we can
think of morphemes combining to make words; words combining to make phrases;
phrases combining to make clauses; and clauses combining to make sentences. Much of
the rest of this book is concerned with how these different kinds of combination occur.
Sentences are the upper limit of grammatical analysis. When we want to consider the
organisation of language beyond the sentence, we have to enter the realm of discourse.
When considering discourse, for example, we would look at the above child’s utterance
and consider its status as an answer to her father’s question.

In this Chapter we shall confine ourselves to learning the basic principles that we use
when assigning grammatical labels to parts of speech. Greater detail about these labels is
given in later Chapters. In this Chapter, the examples primarily illustrate how the
classification of any given sentence into clauses, phrases, words and morphemes is
achieved. Although these general principles of classification can be used at all levels
within the sentence, we will focus here mainly on words.

A reasonable opening question is: ‘How do we attach a grammatical label to words?’

After all, we know that there are different kinds of word, e.g. nouns, verbs, prepositions,
adverbs, articles, conjunctions, and so on. What criteria are used to decide what kind of
word any given example is? The answer is that there are certain tests that you will learn
in the course of this book which help us to decide.

In general, these tests consider three things: the meaning, form and function of a
grammatical unit such as a word, phrase or clause. The consideration of the meaning,
form and function of any grammatical unit should give sufficient information to assign a
label to it. Often, it is not sufficient to consider one of these criteria alone. The task of
labelling might well rely on the consideration of all three. Let us look at some examples.

2.2 Meaning

When grammar is taught at the early stages in school, teachers might well direct pupils
to use the meaning of an item to classify it. Consequently, a ‘thing’ or an ‘object’, like
table, is classified as a noun, while a ‘doing word’ or an ‘action’, like run, is classified

20
as a verb. ‘Describing words’ like red or ugly can be classified as adjectives, while those
words which describe verbs, like quickly or slowly, are adverbs.

The criterion of meaning can certainly be useful when labelling words and phrases, but
it is not in itself sufficient to deal with all the complexities of grammar. Consider a few
of the problems of using meaning alone to classify words.

First, consider the word ‘baby’. If asked to classify this word, you might say, ‘It’s an
object, a thing. Therefore it must be a noun’. And you would be correct. A quick glance
at a list of examples of ‘baby’ and ‘babies’ in the SCOTS corpus shows that young
people or certain things are meant by the uses of these words in context, e.g.

2. if you’re pushing a baby in a pram

3. that was worse than having a baby
4. eating chocolate babies (or soldiers)
5. soft as the toes of babies

However, even though we seem to be able to use meaning to label the vast majority of
examples of ‘baby’/’babies’ as ‘things’ and therefore ‘nouns’, there will usually be
exceptions that are difficult to account for. Consider the uses of ‘baby’ and ‘babies’ in
the following short text, taken from a container of talcum powder:

6. Nobody babies you better than Johnson’s

While in the examples from the SCOTS corpus we can classify ‘baby’ and ‘babies’ as
nouns, in the heading of the advertisement for talcum powder, ‘babies’ is a ‘doing
word’, and can therefore be classed as a verb: ‘Nobody babies you better...’. It can even
be turned into a past action: ‘She babied me better than you!’

Worse, in examples (7) and (8) below, ‘baby’ seems to be some kind of decribing word.
Is it therefore an adjective?

7. I did remember to put baby oil on his tender parts

8. that’s a baby kind of capital A

In brief, the examples show that the meaning of ‘baby’ is inconveniently variable: the
word can indeed refer to a thing, a young child, but it can also refer to treating someone
as if he or she were a child, in other words pampering them, and it can even mean ‘for a
baby’ (in ‘baby oil’) or just plain small (‘a baby kind of capital A’). If meaning were our
only criterion for classification, then, we would be having serious problems by now. So
what other criteria can we use to add to that of meaning?

2.3 Form

The ‘form’ of a grammatical constituent is simply those elements which make it up. As
noted above, the smallest grammatical elements are called morphemes, and these
combine to make words. Morphemes can be classified generally into root morphemes
(e.g. beauty), to which different affixes might be added (e.g. beauti-ful, beauti-cian). We
can classify some words according to the type of morpheme which they contain,
particularly affixes. For example, words which have affixes like –cian tend to be nouns,
while those words which end in –ful tend to be adjectives. We can do a ‘wild card’
search of the SCOTS corpus for words ending in –cian by keying in *cian. To do this,
you can do the following:

21
(a) Go to www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk
(b) Click on Advanced Search.
(c) Click on General, then Word Search, and then Word/phrase (concordance).
(d) Type *cian into the box that appears and press Return.
(e) When the results appear, scroll down the page and look at the concordance.
(f) Repeat the process for *ful.

Sure enough, all the English words found in the concordance are nouns: clinician,
dietician, electrician, magician, mathematician, mortician, musician, optician,
phonetician, physician, politician, rhetorician, technician.

Most – but not all – of the words found by searching *ful are adjectives, e.g. awful,
baleful, bashful, beautiful, blissful, bountiful, careful, cheerful, colourful, deceitful,
disgraceful, doubtful, dreadful, dutiful, faithful, and so on. A smaller group of ‘-ful’
words are nouns that signify a quantity of something, e.g. an armful of mist, a
basketful, a beakful of goodies, a big bowlful of soup, a carful of… lobsters, a cupful
of milk. Again, the form of the latter group is a clue to their grammatical nature: they
are made up of two morphemes, the first signifying some kind of container (arm, basket,
beak, bowl, car, cup, etc) and the second being ‘ful’.

Other types of formal criteria are fairly reliable in distinguishing other classes of word.
For example, adverbs very often end in –ly. A concordance search of *ly in the SCOTS
corpus includes the following among many other examples of adverbs:

9. Haiku are normally restricted to three lines

10. to emerge from the partly clogged-up nozzle
11. some rustic scrivener painstakingly describes every detail
12. ‘Och tae heck wi this,’ he said oot loudly.
13. Unfortunately, the varied club events lost some of their individuality

All the italicised words in examples (9)-(13) end in –ly. This formal similarity
corresponds with certain patterns of meaning and use. Some of the words tell us how
people perform actions (painstakingly, loudly). Some of the words describe other
descriptive words (normally restricted, partly clogged up). One of the words gives a
sense of how the writer feels about the incident he is writing about (Unfortunately…).
These three functions are associated with different kinds of adverb. However, form, like
meaning, is not an absolutely reliable criterion for classification. The SCOTS corpus
also includes the following words ending in –ly whose form therefore suggests they are
adverbs. However, in meaning and use, they are clearly something else, e.g.

14. Anderson Casey’s a bit of a wally

15. That’s lovely dear
16. a mane of steely hair

Although these three italicised words also end with –ly, they are not adverbs. The first is
an evocative word for a certain kind of person; it is therefore a noun. The second and
third are descriptive words in their own right; they are both adjectives. As well as the
form of grammatical items, we have to consider the criteria of meaning and usage. There
are also adverbs, such as fast, quite and well,that do not end with –ly.

Despite the exceptions, form is important because it is still one of the most reliable
means of classifying grammatical items. For example, verbs can easily be identified
because they have a far greater range of forms than, say, nouns (which tend only to have
two forms, a singular and a plural, such as chair, chairs or child, children). Certain
kinds of word in English are invariant, that is, their forms do not change at all – this is

22
true of adverbs such as slowly. Verbs are easily recognisable because their form changes
a lot, for example according to who is performing the action (I speak/she speaks), or
according to the tense of the action (I enjoy/I enjoyed). The irregular verb to be is an
extreme example of this, since it changes its form according to person and number
(I/we, you, he/she/it/they) as well as tense (past and present):

Forms of the verb ‘to be’

Present Past Other forms

I am I/he/she/it was I have been
You/We/They are You/we/they were We are being
He/she/it is

To recap, then, formal criteria, then, are a good way of identifying word classes. Words
in the same grammatical category tend to change their forms in similar ways. However,
there are problems if you want to use formal criteria alone to categorise words. As noted
above, there are exceptions to most of the rules. Not all words that end with –ly are
adverbs, and not all adverbs end with –ly, for example. Moreover, certain words, like
and, if, with, the and for, never change their form at all, yet they do not all belong to the
same grammatical class. And there are irregular words, like the verb to be that change
their forms in idiosyncratic ways.

Like tests of meaning, then, formal tests give us some guidance when we are labelling
grammatical constituents, but we need other criteria if we are to deal with the various
exceptions to the formal ‘rules’ and with different parts of speech.

2.4 Function

‘Function’ is one of those words which has different meanings in different grammatical
and linguistic theories. Sometimes it refers to the uses to which a sentence is put – for
example, whether it is asking a question, making a statement, or giving a command.
Here, however, we will use ‘function’ in a narrower sense, to mean the relationship
between grammatical constituents.

There are undeniably rules governing the relationship between words. These rules tell a
native speaker that an expression like a fast car is acceptable, while *a fast very is
unacceptable. Consider, for a moment, the relationship between the three words in the
phrase

a fast car.

The most important word in this phrase is obviously car. The other two words tell us
something about it. Fast describes it, and a, more vaguely, perhaps, tells us that this car
belongs to a set of items which might be new to the speaker. (Compare the expression
the fast car, i.e. the car I expect that you already know about.)

In short, both a and fast modify the meaning of car in different ways. Both, then, are
labelled modifiers of the headword, which in this instance is car.

23
Different parts of speech have different types of modifiers and headwords. For
example, if you run a concordance for car in the SCOTS corpus, and then list the items
on the left of the key-word, or node, you find that certain words and types of word re-
occur. First there are modifying words such as a, another, the, this and that. Then there
are descriptive words – adjectives – such as American, old, burnt-out, clammy, clean,
damaged among many others. Words, therefore, tend to combine in fairly regular
patterns, and so we can use these patterns of combination to describe individual units. It
is a little like labelling someone not according to his or her own gender, ethnicity or age,
but according to the company he or she keeps.

Phrases, as well as individual words, enter into functional relationships with other
grammatical constituents, and these relationships can help define them. This fact can be
illustrated by the following sentence:
17a The child read them out as part of the story.

– and its reformulation:

17b They were read out by the child as part of the story.

Here we might wish to identify the phrase that functions as the grammatical Subject of
each sentence. One possible way of identifying the Subject is to define it simply as the
person or thing doing the action. However, in (17a) and (17b) above, the person or thing
doing the action is clearly the child. However, the child is not the Subject of (17b). How
then do we identify the Subject of sentence (17b)? The answer is that there is a
relationship between the Subject and the verb phrase of these sentences (the verb phrase
is read in (17a) and were read in (17b)). This relationship determines that if the Subject
is singular in number, then the verb phrase is also singular; but if the Subject is plural
then the verb phrase is also plural. This functional relationship is called concord or
agreement. Let’s consider how it applies to sentences (17a) and (17b).

In sentence (17a) the verb read is in the past tense, and so unfortunately is not marked
for number. However, if we cheat a little and change it to present tense, we can easily
see that it has to agree with the Subject – compare the child reads (singular) and the
children read (plural).

In sentence (17b) the verb is plural because the Subject is plural (they were read). When
we change the Subject so that it is singular, we also have to change the form of the verb
(it was read). We can use this relationship between Subject and verb phrase, then, to
give a functional definition of the Subject: the Subject is that part of speech which has a
relationship of concord or agreement with the verb phrase. So in (17a) the Subject is the
child, and in (17b) the subject is they.

2.5 Putting it All Together

As we have seen, none of the three criteria used for classifying parts of speech –
meaning, form and function – is particularly reliable on its own. However, if used
together, they can help us determine what classes grammatical constituents belong to.
Even then, there will be grey areas and ambiguities when we encounter actual speech
and non-standard usages: language is after all a dynamic thing and the categories and
classes change over time. Often these changes involve a part of speech shifting from one
class into another. For example, we can take a look at the results of a SCOTS corpus
search for the word ‘well’. A selection of concordance lines shows that this word works

24
in different ways in different contexts. Sometimes, but remarkably rarely, it is used as an
adjective, a descriptive word that relates to a noun or noun phrase:

18. Hope all is well.

19. I wasn’t feelin well, I was feelin sick…

More often, it is used as an adverb, either an adverb of manner, that is the kind of
adverb that tells you how an action is being performed (i.e. well or badly) –

20. Today’s lesson went well.

21. I remember it well.

– or as an intensifier, that is the kind of adverb that intensifies the meaning of the
following adjective:

22. the Maori girls were well built and friendly

23. all MSPs are well aware of that vital contribution
24. the embankment itself is well overgrown

In recent years, for certain speakers ‘well’ has been used more broadly as an
intensifying adverb in expressions like ‘That’s well wicked,’ or ‘He’s well up for it’.
Not everyone uses ‘well’ in this way; such expressions tend to suggest youthfulness or a
pose of informality:

25. spiked up like the singer from the well cool band they all liked

Other uses in the SCOTS corpus give evidence of ‘well’ as a noun:

26. Morag sits down at the edge of the well

And, of course, amongst other uses, ‘well’ is often found as a ‘filler’ or ‘hesitation
marker’ often at or near the beginning of spoken utterances. This kind of ‘well’ has
several functions; e.g. it might indicate that it is a speaker’s turn to contribute to a
conversation, or that the same speaker has started a new topic (or is returning to a
previous one after a digression). In other situations, and depending on the intonation,
‘well’ might indicate qualified agreement with the person you are talking to. This
‘discourse signalling’ function of ‘well’ is in fact one of the most common uses in the
SCOTS corpus:

27. Well, when I did, I did the Indian head massage

28. Well, we were sittin, on the side o the road, the two o us
29. Yeah, well, aye

However, even given the fact that a single word can have many uses and that its
meanings shift, a consideration of the meaning, form and function of a word should help
you to classify it reliably. In Chapter 3 we embark upon a more extensive description of
word classes. Particularly when new words are introduced in the sections that follow,
bear in mind the three criteria for classification, and consider how they are being used to
assign a word to its particular group.

2.6 Review Activities: Thinking about Meaning, Form and Function

Activity 1
Literary language often deviates from standard English in interesting and thought-
provoking ways. At one extreme lies ‘nonsense’ poetry such as ‘Jabberwocky’, the

25
beginning of which is reprinted below. Though many of the words in the poem do not in
fact exist, their grammatical categories can be deduced from (i) their form (e.g. their
grammatical endings), and (ii) the way they function in relation to the ‘normal’ words
around them. In this way, their meanings can be guessed at generally, even if they
cannot be tied down specifically.

‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Write down a list of five ‘real’ English words which could be substituted for each of the
following words in the poem, so that it makes more obvious sense:

slithy gimble raths outgrabe

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Now look at the ‘substitute words’ that you have written. Which category of words do
they belong to? What does this tell you about the category of slithy, gimble, raths and
outgrabe? (If you are unsure about grammatical classification, use a dictionary to help
you with this activity. The dictionary will indicate whether a word is a noun, verb,
adjective, adverb, etc.)

Note that this substitution activity might help you if you are unsure about the
classification of words later in this book. If, for example, you are unsure about how to
classify ‘serious’ in a sentence like ‘they were also serious Communist lefties by their
way of it’ then try substituting the word with others that you do know how to classify,
e.g.‘they were also poor/unhappy/frivolous/dedicated/mad Communist lefties.’

If all the others are, say, adjectives (as is the case here), then there is a good chance that
the word you don’t know is an adjective too.

Activity 2
Below you can see the information about Johnson’s Baby Powder taken from a
Brazilian container. Note that the Portuguese is not a direct translation of an English
version! Even without knowing the language, it should still be possible to read the
Portuguese and make some observations about:

(a) the form of the Portuguese words – how can the form help you to identify
nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc? How do you think the plural is formed in
Portuguese? What is the formal relationship between adjectives and nouns?

26
(b) the function of the Portuguese words – e.g. does the order of adjectives and
nouns correspond to English patterns?
(c) the meanings of the words. Having identified the grammatical category of as
many items as you can, how much of the text can you understand?

O Talco Johnson’s baby é feito com o talco

da mais alta qualidade e pureza, que junto
com sua exclusiva fragrância, deixa a pele
suave, macia e perfumada, protegendo-a
contra o atrito e umidade que podem causar
assaduras e irritações.

Activity 3
Look at the following examples from the SCOTS corpus of incidences of the word
‘fast’. Consider its meaning, form and function in each example, and try classifying each
use of the word:

1. They were gaining on us fast.

2. The kids are growing up fast.
3. Holy Mary, he’s intae the fast lane again.
4. The kirk session would hold a fast on Pace Sunday.
5. Time is fast running out.
6. It was a fast three weeks.
7. yin by yin we aa fell fast asleep.
8. the chance to mak a fast buck.
9. popping into a fast food place for a welcome kebab.
10. I had to get the hell out of there. Fast!

The form of ‘fast’ does not vary, but if you substitute another word for ‘fast’ in some
cases, the form of the substitute word varies – and that can act as a clue to categorise
‘fast’. Think too of which words ‘fast’ combines with in the examples given above, and
how the meaning of ‘fast’ changes from example to example.

27
Chapter 3 Describing Words

3.0 About this Chapter

3.1 Identifying Word Classes
3.1.1 Open Word Classes
3.1.2 Closed Word Classes
3.2 Issues in Identifying Word Classes
3.3 Activities
3.3.1 Exploring Open Word Classes
3.3.2 Identifying Words in Context

3.0 About this Chapter

This Chapter continues the introduction to parsing begun in Chapter 2 by giving an
overview of the types of word found in English and Scots. Like most grammarians, we
group some of these word-types in broader categories. Here, in particular, we focus on
the ‘open’ and ‘closed’ categories of words. These categories are always based on
meaning, form and function, as discussed in the previous Chapter. In this Chapter we
also introduce eleven basic word types; in Chapter 4 we discuss the major categories in
more detail.

3.1 Identifying Word Classes

In the previous Chapter, we considered the principles of assigning grammatical labels to

word classes like ‘noun’, ‘verb’, ‘adjective’, and so on. In this Chapter, we shall apply
these principles to a much more detailed survey of English word classes.

We saw in the preceding Chapter that words can be classified according to their
meaning, form and function. For example, the members of one set of words tend to refer
to things (that is their meaning); they generally have two forms, namely, singular and
plural; and they are often preceded by words like ‘my/this/that/a/the’ (that is, these are
the words they function alongside). We call all those words that exhibit these
characteristics ‘nouns’. The members of another set tend to refer to actions or states,
they have a variety of forms depending, for example, on whether they refer to present or
past events, and they are preceded by words like ‘is/was/has/have/can/could’. We label
this set of items ‘verbs’.

In general, sets of English words can be divided into two groups, the open and closed
word classes. The basis for this classification is a simple one: some types of word carry
most of the meaning of a sentence, and we can easily add new words of these types to
the language. Other sets of words play more of a supporting role, and so they behave
differently and are more resistant to change.

For example, new nouns and adjectives are always being coined or borrowed from other
languages, and then used and sometimes discarded. Teenage slang is a fruitful source of
new coinages, as we can see in the term ‘grunge’, recorded in the SCOTS corpus, for
example, in the following utterance:

1. the teen phenomenon of grunge

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘grungy’ is first recorded in American

slang, as an adjective meaning ‘untidy’, ‘dirty’ or ‘unappealing’ in the mid 1960s. The
noun expressing the quality of ‘grunginess’ first appears in Canada in the late 1970s. At
the start of that decade, ‘grunge’ also appears as a noun expressing:

28
 a style of rock music characterized by a raucous, often discordant guitar sound,
lazy vocal delivery, and downbeat, freq. nihilistic lyrics, and (in later use)
influenced by heavy metal and punk rock.

If a word-class can accept new members, then, like the class of nouns or adjectives, it is
an open word-class.

The closed word-classes, however, do not accept new members so willingly. One
example is the class of pronouns (a class that includes I/me, you, he/him, she/her, it,
we/us, they/them). In principle, these sets of words could be added to – but change is
extremely difficult to accomplish. For example, some people have argued that English
suffers from not having a gender-neutral pronoun with the meaning ‘he or she’ and ‘him
or her’ to use in sentences like ‘Everybody knows what he or she should do’. It would
be quite easy to invent a word which would do this – e.g. ‘shim’, as in ‘Everybody
knows what shim [i.e. he/she] should do’, but although some attempts have been made
to rectify this politically incorrect deficiency in English grammar, they have not been
generally accepted. This is because the closed word-classes are much more resistant to
innovation than the open word-classes. This resistance to change is actually because
these two types of word-class perform different tasks in English grammar (see further,
3.2 below).

The frequency of open and closed-class items in the language is also different. The five
most frequent words in the SCOTS corpus, at the time of writing, are the, to, of, and,
and a. The most frequent, the, occurs 224,089 times in the 4 million or so words (at the
time of writing). Of occurs 78,992 times. Among the least frequent words – those that
currently only appear once in the entire corpus – are carcase and husky, alongside the
Broad Scots terms pingilt, whotten and panshit. All the frequent words are closed-class
items; all the infrequent ones are open-class. To understand the reasons for this
difference in frequency, we must consider what each class consists of, and how each
category of word is used.

3.1.1 Open Word Classes

The most familiar parts of speech probably belong to the four open word-classes, or
major parts of speech. As noted, these are the words that carry most meaning in English
sentences, and they are listed below. They are described in terms of their meaning, form
and function (although the function of these words will be considered in more detail in
Chapter 4 when we look at phrases). Note that when using abbreviations, we use
CAPITALS for the initial letter of a major part of speech and lower-case letters for the
minor ones. The letters in brackets are the usual abbreviations.

noun (N)

These are traditionally described as ‘naming words’. They refer to objects of all kinds,
from observable things in the real world (cat, computer) to philosophical abstractions
(beauty).

Some nouns can be recognised by certain affixes such as <ness> in kindness, goodness,
thoughtfulness, or <ion> in generation, consideration, amalgamation, etc. Nouns tend to
have two forms, a singular and a plural. The regular plural is made by adding <s/es> to
the singular noun, as in dog/dogs, gas/gases.

29
Nouns function as the headword, that is, the most important word, in noun phrases (e.g.
the fat canary), but they can also modify other nouns or even adjectives (e.g. canary
yellow).

verb (V)

These are traditionally described as ‘doing words’. They designate activities of all kinds,
and states of being.

Verbs have a variety of different forms (e.g., he rounds the bend, he is rounding the
bend, he has rounded the bend).

They function as the headword of verb phrases, although certain forms of the verb also
pop up elsewhere in different guises (see further, Chapter 5.6).

adjective (Aj)

These are essentially descriptive words, which generally give us more information about
nouns. They answer questions like ‘How big is it?’, ‘What colour is it?’ etc.

Unlike nouns, their form does not change (e.g. fat in one fat cat, two fat cats). Some
adjectives can be identified by affixes such as <ful>, as in beautiful, plentiful, or <ive>
as in aggressive, responsive, attentive.

They function as the headword in adjective phrases, or as modifiers in noun phrases

(e.g. utterly hopeless, and hopeless case).

adverb (Av)

These words are also descriptive, but they are associated primarily with verbs. They
give information like WHEN something was done (yesterday), or HOW (sweetly) or
WHERE (nowhere) or TO WHAT EXTENT (deeply).

Like adjectives, their form does not change. Many of them can be identified by the
Adverbial affix <ly>.

They can appear as the headword in Adverbial phrases (e.g. ‘never’ in almost never) but
they can also modify adjectives (e.g. ‘deeply’ in deeply sorry) and other adverbs (e.g.
‘almost’ in almost never).

The four open-class items, nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, in summary, express
much of the meaning of any utterance or sentence. They can be distinguished by their
form, function and meanings – but they share a capacity for being added to, as we find
new things we need to express in our daily lives. The job of the much more frequent
closed-class items is mainly to signal the relationship between the open-class items in
any stretch of speech or writing, as we shall now see.

3.1.2 Closed Word Classes

There are seven closed word-classes or minor parts of speech. Grammarians vary in the
terminology they use for these classes, so some alternative labels are given in brackets.
Often these labels subdivide the main category. Remember, abbreviations for the closed
word classes use lower-case letters, such as (d) and (a).

30
determiner (d)

Determiners are rather like adjectives in that they modify nouns in noun phrases. Unlike
adjectives, however, they don’t describe nouns – instead, they specify which noun it is,
or who it belongs to, or which number in a sequence it is, or how much of it there is.
Determiners include the following:

the (definite article);

a (indefinite article);
this, that, these, those (demonstratives);
my, your, his, her, its, our, their (possessive adjectives);
one, four, twenty, first, ninth,last,etc. (enumerators, indicating definite quantities;
note that some enumerators can also be nouns, e.g. ‘Are you going to her twenty-
first?’);
some, any, no, all, many, most, whole, etc. (indicating indefinite quantities).

If a phrase has both an adjective and a determiner, then the rule is that the determiner
precedes the adjective in the noun phrase, as in

his old bicycle

d Aj N

Adjectives can be compared: big, bigger, biggest

Aj Aj Aj

Determiners cannot: some, *somer, *somest.

d

Broad Scots has a slightly different determiner system from English. In both speech and
writing in Scots, we find further demonstratives:

2. would cuiver maist o thir heids

3. that was all wood wool in thae boaxes
4. looking for yon thing
5. We got thon stuff for it

Thir in older Broad Scots is equivalent to ‘these’; however in the SCOTS corpus it is
seldom used in this sense. In the corpus it is mostly used as a phonetic spelling of
‘there/their’. However, on the few occasions when it is used as a demonstrative, it can
mean ‘these’, as it does above. Thae or they are also Broad Scots equivalents of ‘these’.
The Scots demonstratives yon/thon are used to refer to things that are perceived to be at
a distance: where ‘this/these’ refer to things that are close to the speaker, ‘that/those’
refer to things that are further away, and ‘yon/thon’ refer to things that are at an even
greater distance. ‘Yon/thon’ have identical meanings, and each can be used to modify
singular or plural nouns:

6. It must be yon time

7. can I hae thon can o coke?
8. Yon jet-black een that ance burnt bricht
9. You can dee thon bonnie shapes, can’t you?

Many of the other determiners have English and Scots forms – four corresponds to
fower for example, and all corresponds to aw/aa/a’, but the basic system is the same.
That is, demonstratives apart, the determiner system of Scots and English is largely
identical.

31
auxiliary verb (a)

Auxiliary verbs modify main verbs in verb phrases. To generalise, when we add an
auxiliary verb to a main verb in a verb phrase, we alter the sense of time reference,
duration, possibility or obligation. There are two types of auxiliary verb:

be, have, do (primary auxiliaries)

can, may, must, shall, would, etc. (modal auxiliaries)

The primary auxiliaries alter the sense of time reference and duration, e.g.

he hid (no auxiliary)

he was hiding (auxiliary be)
he has been hiding (auxiliary have + be)

The modal auxiliaries add the senses of possibility and obligation, e.g.

he could hide (auxiliary can)

he should hide (auxiliary should)

The auxiliary verb system is discussed in more detail in Chapter 9. In the meantime, it is
worth noting that the distribution and use of the auxiliary verbs is different in Scottish
English and Southern British English, particularly in informal speech. Scottish speakers
tend to avoid certain modal auxiliaries, like may, preferring to use other modal
auxiliaries (like will) in combination with an adverb like maybe. Compare:

10. I cannot […] predict what issues may arise in the future
11. I’ll maybe gie they weans a bath

pronoun (pn)

Pronouns are used to replace nouns and thus avoid repetition, e.g:

12. Sometimes people have to admit that they cannot achieve what they had
N pn pn
hoped to achieve.

The pronoun they here replaces the noun people. There are different kinds of pronoun,
and they can be subcategorised as follows:

I/me, you, he/him, she/her, it, we/us, they/them (personal pronouns)

mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs (possessive pronouns)
myself, yourself, etc. (reflexive pronouns)
someone, anyone, some, one, all, none, few, little, etc. (indefinite pronouns)
who, whom, whose, which, that (relative pronouns)
what? where? why?, etc. (interrogative pronouns)
this, that, these, those (demonstrative pronouns).

As with determiners, many of these pronouns have Broad Scots equivalents. For
example, the personal pronoun I might be rendered A or Ah, or, if the speaker is from
Dundee, Eh. In general, the spelling of pronouns in Scots is influenced by the
pronunciation, e.g. masel, yirsel (‘myself’, ‘yourself’), and so on.

32
Some Broad Scots pronoun forms are different in other ways. For example, the English
possessive pronoun mine (example 13 below) is equivalent to mines in Broad Scots,
probably because all the other possessive pronouns also end in –s. The alteration of an
irregular grammatical feature to conform to a general pattern is a process known as
‘analogy’. In (14) the ‘s’ is added to mine to make it conform to yours, his, hers, ours,
and theirs.

13. I would walk through living coal to take your hand in mine.
14. A took his haun in mines, and turnt it roon.

The interrogative pronouns in Scots are also rather different from those in English. In
speech, many Scots use the interrogative pronoun How? as well as or instead of Why?

15. Why don’t you go to the shops?

16. How do you no use that one?

In Scots, Whit wey? (‘what way’) is then used instead of How?, although, since How?
and Why? are interchangeable in Scots, this means that Whit wey? can also mean Why?

17. Whit wey can we git the pypar out?

18. Whit wey dae ye no ring yersel, dear?

The demonstrative pronouns are similar in form to the demonstrative determiners.

Instead of modifying a noun, the pronoun replaces it. Compare:

19. Can I borrow this book? this = determiner, book = noun

20. Can I borrow this? this = pronoun

The Scots determiners described earlier (i.e. thir, thae/they, thon/yon) can also be used
alongside this/these, that/those as pronouns, e.g.

21. Yeah I could easy understand yon, nae trouble wi that.

pn pn

Speakers of Broad Scots can evidently draw upon the Scots and English grammatical
systems, and they frequently produce utterances that contain features of both.

preposition (pr)

The category of prepositions includes about fifty to a hundred little words that perform a
wide range of uses in English and Scots. The ten most commonly used prepositions in
English are of, in, to, for, with, on, at, from, by and about.

The term pre-position means ‘position before a noun phrase’. Prepositions normally
combine with nouns to form a wide variety of phrases, e.g.:

22. they can sit on their old armchairs

pn a V pr d Aj N

and read from the pages of their weekly local paper

c V pr d N pr d Aj Aj N

Although prepositions combine with nouns, they do not modify them in the same way as
adjectives and determiners do. Whilst adjectives are used to describe several of the

33
nouns above (old armchairs, weekly local paper), and determiners are used to identify
the nouns (their…armchairs, the pages, their…paper), a preposition gives a different
kind of information, often about location, position or possession (on...armchairs,
from…pages, of…paper, etc). Prepositions are therefore considered not to be modifiers
in the noun phrase, but to combine with noun phrases to give prepositional phrases (see
further, Chapter 5.4.5).

Different varieties of English and Scots prefer different prepositions in particular

phrases. Consider, for example, which preposition you prefer to use in the following
contexts:

23. the situation for Gaelic is rather different ___ that of the other languages.
24. Did you find Aberdeen different ______ Glasgow?
25. Morrissey is no different ____ any other pop star.

The choice of preposition to link the noun or pronoun to the adjective different depends
partly on the context of the utterance and partly on the background of the speaker. In
(23) the speaker used to, in (24) the speaker used from and in (25) the speaker used than.
As the lack of bold highlighting indicates, the third example is not from the SCOTS
corpus, which at the time of writing contains only one, barely audible, example of
different than, in a recording of a young child from NE Scotland. Example (25) comes
instead from the British National Corpus, where it is still a minority choice compared to
different from+ noun. Peters (2004: 153) suggests that British speakers generally prefer
different from+noun to different to + noun by a ratio 6 to 1, while American speakers
seldom use different to, and are more likely to use different than+noun. Peters also
points out that there are contexts in which most speakers of any kind of English will opt
for than, as this example from the BNC also shows:

26. ethical statements do indeed do something more or different than merely state facts

Clearly, merely state facts is not a simple noun or noun phrase, so than has a different
kind of linking function here. It is a conjunction, rather than a preposition, and it
introduces a sequence of adverb (merely), verb (state) and noun (facts).

The distribution of prepositions varies not only across British and American English but
across English and Broad Scots too. For example, there is variation in the use of
preposition used to link married/merrit to the following noun phrase:

27. his sister was married to a Black Douglas

28. The Duke of Kent is married to a lady
29. Thae sons merrit oan Moabite weemen
30. He was merrit tae a wife as daft as hissel

conjunction (c)

Conjunctions link grammatical units (i.e. words, phrases or clauses) in different ways.
Conjunctions include and, but, or, if, that, where, when, although, because and others.

As we shall see in more detail in Chapter 8, there is a distinction between coordinating

conjunctions (i.e. and, but, or) and subordinating conjunctions (e.g. if, that, where,
when, etc). For the time being, we simply give an example of a coordinating conjunction
and a subordinating one, using brackets to show the grammatical units that are being
linked:

34
31. [they want everything to be good], but [they don’t think about what good is.]
32. [It was a grand day for the bairns too [because they got to roll eggs.]]

As you can see from the examples, the coordinating conjunction but links two separate
grammatical units, one on either side of the conjunction. In contrast, the subordinating
conjunction because combines one grammatical unit with another by embedding it
inside the main grammatical unit. Although the way that they function is rather
different, it is the fact that both types of conjunction link sequences of language that
allows us to put them in the same grammatical category.

interjection (i)

Interjections are used to attract attention, express emotion etc. and include expressions
like hello, yes, oh, och, oh dear, ugh, tut tut etc. Proper names used to attract or draw
attention are a special kind of interjection, often called a vocative, as in:

33. John, do not get a desire for a motorbike

i

Until recently, interjections have been rather neglected by grammarians, for various
reasons. Most obviously, until the advent of large-scale corpora that included
information about speech as well as writing, it was difficult for grammarians to see how
these apparent grunts and other noises were used in discourse. However, as corpora have
become more widely used, it is clear that interjections are both frequent and meaningful.
Carter and McCarthy (2006: 214-235) describe the use of various interjections in spoken
English, including the use of such expressions as ‘discourse markers’ to indicate the
beginning or the end of a speaker’s turn or the topic being discussed. Example (34)
represents part of a conversation from the SCOTS corpus, among several female
speakers (F1054, F1005 and F1006) plus a solitary male (M1004). The speakers are
discussing the words used for different concepts, but are interrupted by the noise of the
washing machine that belongs to one of the participants:

34. F1054: Ehm, well speakin of [inaudible] Oh! Do you need to get that?
F1005: //[inaudible] machine, sorry, it’s ma washin//
F1006: //[laugh]//
M1004: //She’s not.//
F1005: //[?]machine[/?].//
M1004: She’s a producer.
F1005: Aye.
F1054: Anyway, ehm, what about, speaking of attractive, what other words
would you use for ‘attractive’ in the ‘getting personal’ section?

Here, we can see how interjections signal the introduction, shifting and resumption of
topics. Ehm, well indicate a new topic is being introduced; oh indicates an unexpected
interruption; and anyway, ehm indicates that an earlier topic is being re-introduced.

negative (n)

As the name suggests, this little grammatical particle is used to negate a verb. The way
verbs are negated tends to differ in English and Scots. In written and spoken standard
English, verbs are negated by placing not or n’t after the auxiliary verb:

35. I’m not going to change just to suit you.

36. I wasn’t going to buy three tickets to find out.

35
At a glance, the Scottish system of negation seems to mirror the English one: no is used
in place of not and –nae or one of its variants corresponds to –n’t. Speakers can switch
back and forth between the systems for dramatic reasons:

37. I’m no goin back. I am not going back to that Sunday School
38. she doesnae go in for that either.

However, there are differences in some details. In standard English, the contraction -n’t
is not used with the verb am; however, in Scots it is possible to use the contractions -n’t
and -nae with am. Compare:

39. No, I’m not a plumber, no.

40. I kind of haven’t been a bike nut and still amn’t.
41. No I amnae.

In English the restriction on the contraction of am and –n’t affects the form used in tag
questions with the first person pronoun. In English the anomalous tag aren’t I is used:

42a. I’m dead, aren’t I?

It would be possible for a Scottish English speaker to say:

42b. I’m dead, amn’t I?

Alternatively, a Scottish English speaker might prefer:

43. I’m a foster-mother to trade, am I not?

In Broad Scots, the emphatic acknowledgement that might follow such a question could
involve the use the verb to be as both an auxiliary and as a main verb (i.e. am + are).
This, in turn, can be affirmed or negated:

44. Aye, I’m ur.

45. Naw, I’m urnae.

However, these negative uses are hard to capture, and so far they are not recorded in the
SCOTS data.

3.2 Issues in Identifying Word Classes

The bulk of this Chapter has been taken up with identifying different categories of word
in English and Scots. In the broad category of open-class words, or lexical items, we
have focused on the four major word classes of noun, adjective, verb and adverb. In the
broad category of closed-class words, or grammatical items, we have looked at the
seven minor word classes of determiner, auxiliary verb, pronoun, preposition,
conjunction, interjection and negative. When beginning grammatical analysis it is
necessary to label the words you find in an utterance according to these categories.

However, this kind of categorisation is not always easy, for a number of reasons. As
noted earlier, many word forms in English function as more than one part of speech.
For example, you might have noticed that the word round occurs in all four of the major
parts of speech. In fact, it occurs in five of our eleven word-classes in all:

46. her fingernails are round at the top Aj

47. it is smudged round the edges pr

36
48. let’s have a round of applause N
49. He walked round and round and round, sneering Av
50. they rounded the corner to the last distillery V

As ever, it is important to pay attention to meaning, function and form when classifying
words.

3.3 Activities

3.3.1 Exploring Open Word Classes

1. Nouns can be identified functionally in that they are the most important word in
phrases that begin with ‘a/the/this/that’. You can test this hypothesis by carrying
out an Advanced Search in the SCOTS corpus for phrases that begin with a +
adjective. (Instructions on how to do concordance searches are given in Section
2.3 above.) Try searching for ‘a big’ ‘the awful’, etc., and then identify the noun
that acts as a headword in each phrase. Some concordance lines for ‘this old’ are
given below. Identify the headword and check whether it meets all the criteria for
‘nounness’:

this old boy

this old thing
this old boat
this old dog
this old, old story
this old Stone Age relic

2. Search the SCOTS corpus for words ending in –ful and –ive. As shown earlier,
you can do this by entering *ive or *ful as your search item. Your results should
have forms strongly associated with adjectives. Test whether they also have
adjectival meanings (ie are they descriptive?) and functions (e.g do they precede
nouns; do they follow adverbs? do they appear after the verb ‘to be’?). Some
examples of *ful are given below. If they are not adjectives, what are they?

it seemed to be an awful skoosh

there’s some people with beautiful voices
you had to be careful
a carful of world-famous Shediac lobsters
your cheerful smile
they were serious, careful, thoughtful
make the information more colourful
how did that disgraceful rumour spread?
one national document that is mindful of urban and rural issues

3. Verbs are identifiable mainly because of their varied forms. The meanings of verb
phrases are complex and fascinating, and are explored in some detail in Chapter 9.
To explore the verb phrase, search the SCOTS corpus for a regular verb, like love,
but drop the final ‘e’ and add * to the end of it, to catch all the verb endings. How
many of the examples are verbs? What kind of words modify verbs? Some results
are given below for lov*.

I love my Mummy sometimes

We would love to raise entry charges
Burns himself loved the dance
he loves making words up
Ah wis lovin yi

37
 Some of the results of a SCOTS corpus search for lov* show other kinds of
words, e.g. lovely, an adjective, and lover, a noun. Interestingly, ‘loving’ appears
several times, but as an adjective rather than as a verb, e.g. He talked with loving
familiarity…. The only comparable verb forms are found in Scots, in expressions
such as Ah wis lovin yi.. As we shall see in more detail later, with some
exceptions, English speakers tend to avoid using –ing forms of verbs that express
mental or emotional activities. Scottish speakers are less likely to avoid these
forms. A Scottish speaker is therefore more likely than an English speaker to say
He was believing me, I could see, rather than He believed me, I could see.

4. Many, but by no means all, adverbs end in –ly. Moreover, not all words that end
in –ly are adverbs: we have just noted that lovely is an adjective, for example.
Adverbs often fall into pairs with adjectives – quick/quickly, slow/slowly,
brave/bravely, and so on. One way of exploring the difference between these
word classes is to compare their uses in the SCOTS corpus. What other parts of
speech are the adjective awkward and the adverb awkwardly describing in the
following examples?

there is an awkward silence

to defend the minister from awkward questions
a tufty at each end for getting into awkward corners

everyone is looking at them awkwardly

we were drinking the stuff awkwardly at the table
the other solicitor grappling awkwardly with an armful of files

5. Multiple Membership
Many words can appear in more than one word-class – they have multiple
membership. The way we assign these words changes according to their use in
different sentences. It is therefore important to pay attention to the meaning,
form and function of words as they appear in different contexts. In Chapter 2 we
noted that baby can be a noun or a verb. Similarly, we saw above in examples
46-50 that round might appear as an example in several word classes. Can you
classify round in the following examples?

a. She had round blue eyes.

b. Do you fancy a round of golf?
c. The bus rounded the corner.
d. Most soup-plates are round.

3.3.2 Identifying Words in Context

Parsing begins with the identification of words in written sentences or spoken
utterances. In each of the two passages from the SCOTS corpus given below, assign the
items in bold to the appropriate category of word.

Open-class items: N, Aj, Av, V Closed-class items: d, a, pn, pr, c, i, n

Extract A: Christian Kay interviews Ian Rankin

In this extract, one of the authors interviews the Edinburgh author Ian Rankin about
translations of his work. The website referred to is that of the Bibliography of Scottish
Literature in Translation (BOSLIT: http://boslit.nls.uk). The slashes // indicate where
the speakers are talking simultaneously.

38
CK: Right. But [1] nowadays your work is very widely translated. If you look up the
BOSLIT website, you find there are t- ninety-eight translations of your books in
circulation. And I think you said that was twenty-seven languages. Would you li- can
you give us some idea of the [2] spread of languages?
IR: Ehm, [3] well one of the first was Welsh. //Erm//
CK: //Really? [laugh]//
IR: ‘Knots and Crosses’ was translated into Welsh. But I remember gettin, and I can’t
find it, but I did get a letter from the the, whoever was publishin it in Welsh, I know it
exists cause it’s in [4] the National Library in Edinburgh, [5] although I’ve never seen a
copy. Ehm, they said, ‘We’re having problems havin all these Scottish names; we’re
gonna change them to Welsh names.’
CK: [audience laugh] [laugh]
IR: And so they had the streets of Edinburgh teeming with Bronwyns and Dais,
CK: [audience laugh] //[laugh]//
IR: //erm which I thought was rather [6] odd.// Er, but it doesn’t seem to be odd to
people who translate books. Do you know, [7] in America they very blithely for years
[8] would change ‘pavement’ to ‘sidewalk’,
CK: Mmhm
IR: ‘boot’ of the car to ‘trunk’ of the car, even if the the person sayin the word was Scots
and would never use that. Ehm and just the last book that I wrote, ‘Fleshmarket Close’;
they [9] changed that in American to ‘Fleshmarket Alley’,
CK: [Uh-huh] [audience laugh]
IR: ehm, a street that does [10] n’t exist, because [11] they felt that no American would
know what a close was. Ehm so, I mean, the problems with translation aren’t just in in
other languages; they’re actually in English as well.

Extract B: Letter to Canada

In this slightly edited text, a mother writes a letter to her daughter, who has recently
taken up a university position in Canada. Again, identify the 11 word classes.

It was lovely to have an excuse for a chat on the Telephone on Saturday - and then we
got your letter on Monday so now feel we are [1] well up to date with the news. I hope
the house/flat hunting is going well. There would probably be more of a community
feeling [2] around the Osborne Village area and a house or condominium apartment
would suit you. I expect the apartments would be less anonymous and impersonal than
the huge rented block you are in and you would probably find [3] congenial neighbours.
However, [4] we will hear further from you. Are you alright money wise?

I hope the new office is now in order and that you are settling in to your new [5]
commitments. Perhaps they are [6] not quite so new just ‘official’ now - you’ve
probably been doing most of the work already. I was surprised to read that it was
‘Annabelle’s last day’ - has she left, or just gone off on holiday, [7] or just moved to
another department? You will miss working with her but hopefully [8] your new
colleague Beryl will prove as friendly and compatible!

I hope you enjoyed ‘Cats’. Was it a professional touring company eg. the same company
who [9] performed in Toronto? or was it just a co-incidence that it was on in both
cities? Also the Folk Festival [10] should be fun. Did you wear your kilt? Too hot
perhaps. Though I remember someone trying to insist that the woollen kilts worn by the
Scottish soldiers in the desert kept out the heat!! Wishful thinking I imagine.

[11] Well, no more now.

39
Chapter 4 More about Words

4.0 About this Chapter

4.1 More about Nouns
4.1.1 Abstract and Concrete Nouns
4.1.2 Count, Mass and Collective Nouns
4.1.3 Proper and Common Nouns
4.2 More about Adjectives
4.2.1 Non-gradable Adjectives
4.2.2 Gradable Adjectives
4.3 More about Adverbs
4.3.1 Degree Adverbs
4.3.2 Circumstance Adverbs
4.3.3 Attitude Adverbs
4.3.4 Connective Adverbs
4.4 More about Verbs
4.5 Activities

4.0 About this Chapter

Chapter 3 introduced the eleven main types of word found in English and Scots, and
distinguished between those that carry most of the meaning (open class words, or
‘lexical items’) and those whose function is mainly to modify the meanings of the
lexical items and to signal the relationship between them (closed class words, or
‘grammatical items’). Open-class items are subject to innovation as new words are
introduced to the language; closed-class items tend to be a finite set, less subject to
addition and change. We can easily think of a new noun or verb, for example, but
language users are less likely to accept a new pronoun or a new auxiliary verb. In this
Chapter we look further at the category of open-class words, in particular nouns,
adjectives and adverbs. We touch here upon the subject of verbs, but this topic is so
substantial that we return to it in more detail in Chapter 9.

4.1 More about Nouns

The most numerous class of words in the language is that of nouns. We use nouns to
refer to items in the world, whether that world is real or imaginary. Nouns can be
subdivided into smaller categories, using a range of criteria which are summarised
below.

4.1.1 Abstract and Concrete

The traditional definition of a noun is that it is a ‘naming word’ which identifies a

person, animal, place or thing. The type of noun that most clearly performs this function
is a concrete noun. These are words like girl, student, chair, blackboard which have
obvious referents (referent = ‘thing referred to’) in the world around us. In all these
cases we could point to the person or object referred to – and we often do if we are
teaching a beginner the language. It is more difficult to do this with abstract nouns. We
may know perfectly well what Tuesday or happiness or philosophy means, but we can
hardly point to definite examples of them.

The distinction between abstract and concrete nouns is a traditional one, and it is clearly
based on the meanings of the words. One question to ask is whether this distinction in
meaning has consequences in the grammatical behaviour of abstract and concrete nouns
– that is, do we use them differently in sentences, or combine them with different kinds
of word? The answer is technically no; however, there is a tendency for abstract and

40
concrete nouns to coincide with another kind of categorisation, one that does have an
impact on the behaviour of nouns. That is, many abstract nouns are also mass nouns,
while many concrete nouns are also count nouns. Certain determiners can modify mass
nouns, while other determiners modify count nouns – so the distinction is more useful to
grammarians.

4.1.2 Count, Mass and Collective Nouns

As noted in the introductory Chapter, we can divide nouns into (i) individual items that
can be counted, e.g. loaf/loaves, (ii) substances which we tend to regard as indivisible
wholes, e.g. bread and (iii) unitary bodies made up of a collection of individuals, e.g. a
team. Count nouns refer to individual items which can be counted. Mass nouns refer to
wholes (for example, we tend not to count *one, two or three breads), and collective
nouns refer to unitary bodies made up of a collection of individual items. Since they can
be counted (e.g. one, two or three teams), collective nouns can be thought of as a special
case of count noun. As we saw at the end of Chapter 1, they are special because often
people use a plural verb with the singular noun (the team is/are), reflecting that the
meaning of the noun expresses plurality, even if it is singular in form.
The interesting thing about count and mass nouns is that they often behave differently,
that is, they combine with other words in systematically different ways. Both mass and
count nouns can occur after the definite article (the), but only count nouns occur as
headwords after indefinite articles (a, an) or occur as plurals. Consider the following
examples from the SCOTS corpus:

If we take a concrete count noun like dish we find that it occurs in a range of contexts.
First, it occurs as the main word or ‘headword’ following the determiners the and a:

1. the dish will be a failure

2. the metal lid covering the dish
3. the dish she loved

4. a dish to look forward to

5. in a dish in the oven
6. a dish best served cold

Secondly, we find the term in the plural form, dishes, e.g.:

7. sinkful of dirty dishes

8. 6 butter dishes

Dish, then, fulfils all the criteria required of a count noun. It can be contrasted with a
noun referring to a substance, like milk. Milk also appears as a headword after the:

9. showing signs of having finished the milk

10. the milk left in the bowl
11. the milk was boiled
12. they dissolve intae the milk
13. he wid steal the milk

However, if you search the SCOTS corpus for a milk you will find only a few examples,
and none of them is a headword. In all the SCOTS examples, milk modifies another
noun that acts as the headword, e.g.

41
14. a milk dish
15. a milk pudding
16. a milk and honey land

A milk does not occur by itself, and there are no examples of the plural noun *milks.
Although dish and milk are both nouns, then, their different grammatical behaviour leads
us to classify them as different kinds of noun, one a count noun and the other a mass
noun.

Fewer/less, many/much and monie/muckle

In general, count and mass nouns differ in that each combines with different
determiners. Look at the following data from the SCOTS corpus. Consider whether the
nouns are mass nouns or count nouns. Then work out the grammatical rules for choosing
the determiners fewer/ less and many/much:

17. It makes less noise

18. there seem to be fewer words
19. fewer and fewer teachers

20. many quaint sayings

21. many different cultural backgrounds
22. producing much coal
23. much furniture

Technically, fewer and many should only occur with count nouns, and less and much
should appear with mass nouns, as in the examples above. However, if we consder
example (24), there is evidence that less is gradually encroaching into countable
contexts associated with fewer::

24. Fox destruction clubs generally use less dogs…

At first glance, the Scots determiners monie/muckle appear to be parallel to many/much,

that is, we might assume that monie would be used with count nouns and muckle with
mass nouns. However, the SCOTS corpus suggests that this distinction is not so clear-
cut. Unlike much, muckle can be used as an Adjective, meaning something like great or
big. In this sense, it can appear with count nouns, e.g..:

25. these great muckle trees

26. a muckle pond
27. twa muckle message bags

This seems to be by far the most common use of muckle in the corpus. However, muckle
can also be used as a determiner, with a similar sense to much, and in these instances its
use is limited to mass nouns:

28. nae muckle wunner

29. naethin o muckle eese [= nothing of much use]

Monie, like many, combines with countable nouns:

30. monie times

31. monie helpins
32. monie fowk

42
It might appear that a grammatical distinction such as count/mass noun is clear-cut and
absolute. After all, we should be able to count things or not. However, as in many issues
to do with grammar, there are interesting grey areas. The grammatical behaviour of
some nouns – and their countability – depends on how we think about them from
utterance to utterance. Consider the following examples of those nouns that we can think
about either as count nouns or as mass nouns, depending on their meaning in context:

33. She arrives for coffee at ten-thirty (the substance: mass noun)
34. He hands them their coffees (individual cups of coffee: count noun)
35. I’m quite obsessive about chocolate (the substance: mass noun)
36. her grandmother loved good chocolates (individual items: count noun)

As noted briefly above, collective nouns are an ambiguous little subgroup of count
nouns that occur after both kinds of determiner, a and the. They are different because
they can take either a singular or a plural verb, depending on whether we think of them
as expressing a collection of individuals, an indivisible unit or a generalised concept.
Collective nouns mainly refer to groups of people, animals, or things, eg. team, family,
committee, staff, herd, flock. The SCOTS corpus gives instances of when we use the
words as singular units and as plurals:

37. the team is magic (individual unit: singular)

38. his team are actively involved in their local community (many individuals: plural)
39. the family is the very basis on which society stands (general concept: singular)
40. I know John and Doll’s family are well (many individuals: plural)

As noted earlier, there is a general difference between North American and British
conventions in relation to collective nouns: while North American educated usage tends
to consider them as singular (and so Americans generally would say and write the team
is), educated British speakers and writers now tend to consider them as plural (and so
would say and write the team are).

4.1.3 Proper and Common Nouns

Another way of classifying nouns is into proper and common nouns. Proper nouns,
such as James or Glasgow, refer to particular individuals. Common nouns, such as man
or village, denote classes of items that are grouped together because of their shared
characteristics. For example, the common noun village refers to the class of items
sharing the general characteristic of ‘small group of houses or homesteads clustered
together’.

Proper and common nouns are also distinguished grammatically. Normally, only
common nouns are modified by determiners:

41. Are you a plumber then?

d N

42. *Are you a Fred then?

d N

43
43. The plumber went and broke the sink.
d N

44. * The Fred went and broke the sink.

d N
Because they refer to unique items, proper nouns tend not to be found in the plural:
45. They sent twa plumbers tae the hoose.
46. * They sent twa Freds tae the hoose

It is, of course, possible to find some contexts in which it is acceptable to use proper
nouns either with determiners or in the plural. Sometimes proper names are used to refer
to a class of individuals that share a similar set of characteristics, as in this example
from the SCOTS corpus:

47. My, you’re still a smart wee Bobby Dazzler.

It is also possible to conceive of a situation that involves two or more people sharing the
same proper name, as in the traditional tale of the ‘four Marys’, a version of which is
found in the SCOTS collection of texts:

48. The other Marys join them and they gather and sway.

It is also possible for a proper noun to become a common noun. This happens with
eponymous words, where, for example, the name of an inventor, producer or user is
given to an object, as in biro, cardigan or hoover (the last of which was produced but
not invented by William Henry Hoover of New Berlin, Ohio):

49. curry stains the hoover missed

The lesson to take from these observations is that grammatical rules are based on
tendencies, not absolutely strict, black-and-white distinctions. We bend and shape
grammatical categories according to our perceptions and communicative needs.

4.2 More about Adjectives

Adjectives generally modify nouns, or they can occur after verbs as headwords in their
own right:

50. a beautiful drive

51. it was beautiful, it was lovely

Adjectives can be divided into two major classes, non-gradable and gradable.

4.2.1 Non-gradable Adjectives

Non-gradable adjectives denote absolute qualities such as nationalities or biological

characteristics. For example, people are either male or female, alive or dead, Australian
or not Australian etc. Because they have this ‘either/or’ quality, such adjectives often
come in pairs where each word is the opposite or antonym of its partner. True/false and
married/single are other examples.

44
Because they express qualities that are theoretically absolute, it should logically be odd
to find non-gradable adjectives in expressions like very dead or very alive. Logically,
you are either alive or you are not. However, as we shall see, such combinations are not
impossible.

4.2..2 Gradable Adjectives

Non-gradable adjectives are few in number compared to gradable adjectives. The

majority of adjectives are gradable; that is, they measure qualities on a scale of size,
value etc., such as young/old, tall/short, good/bad, early/late.

Young/old are the key points on their scale, but other points can be slotted into the scale.
Your choice of word may vary according to your own position on the scale: if you are
twenty, then everyone over thirty might seem ‘old’! Context also affects our perception
of the word – scales differ according to what we are referring to. Thus a ‘tall child’
would be shorter than a ‘tall man’, a ‘tall hatstand’ shorter than a ‘tall tree’, because the
range of possible heights varies in each case. The same is true of adjectives denoting
values: a ‘good party’ has quite different characteristics from a ‘good talking-to’.

If two scales are in use at once, then apparently nonsensical sentences make perfectly
good sense:
52. A small elephant is a large animal.
d Aj N d Aj N

Note that this does not hold true for non-gradable adjectives:

53. *A female doctor is a male person.

d Aj N d Aj N

Gradable adjectives and non-gradable adjectives differ in other kinds of behaviour. For
example, gradable adjectives are much more likely to have comparative or superlative
forms that intensify their meanings. If a gradable adjective is made up of one or two
syllables, the comparative and superlative forms are usually formed by adding –er, -est
to the root form. If the adjective has more than two syllables, we indicate comparative
and superlative meanings by using the adverbs more/less and most/least:

54. its close association with hell

55. the bubble got closer
56. my closest friend

57. an interesting example

58. slightly more interesting
59. the most interesting or amusing sentence

Note that, again because they express absolutes rather than points on a scale, it is less
probable that non-gradable adjectives will be found in comparative or superlative forms:

60. *more female

45
61. *less silent

Although it is less likely, it is not impossible – as we can see in expressions like He was
more dead than alive.
Finally, gradable adjectives are more likely than non-gradable adjectives to be modified
by degree adverbs such as rather, so and very:
62. they can be rather boisterous.
63. this is rather important.
64. I was rather apprehensive.

65. it’s so ghastly.

66. he’s so funny.
67. I’m so glad.

68. very fond of a dram

69. my heart is sound and very strong.
70. Wee Andy’s in Australia. Very busy.

Non-gradable adjectives are not so frequently modified by degree adverbs. However,

like so many grammatical rules, these ones can be broken for dramatic or humorous
effect. Often the meaning of the non-gradable adjective is changed by its use in
combination with a degree adverb. For example:
71. In moments like these the Lane became so alive and full of colour…
72. Stovies, that’s very Scottish…
In the first example, the Lane is not literally coming alive; rather, the writer is using the
non-gradable adjective to mean something like ‘lively’ or ‘vibrant’. In the second, the
non-gradable adjective is not expressing an absolute national category, but rather it
means, here, ‘characteristic of Scotland’. It is therefore not impossible to use degree
adverbs with non-gradable adjectives, but occurrences are rarer and the meanings are
dramatic, humorous or non-literal.

4.3 More about Adverbs

Adverbs, like other word classes, can be sub-categorised according to how they behave
in phrases and sentences. We consider four common kinds here: degree adverbs,
circumstance adverbs, attitude adverbs and connective adverbs.

4.3.1 Degree Adverbs

We encountered degree adverbs in the previous section, particularly in combination with

gradable adjectives. Degree adverbs occur in phrases and articulate how intense
something is, or to what degree it happens. Degree adverbs are often used in speech to
soften or emphasise what is being said. Examples include:

73. Shetland dialect’s very different itself, isn’t it?

74. That would be pretty cool.
75. I’m doing so awfully well.
76. he became conspiratorial, almost chummy.

Broad Scots examples of degree adverbs include:

46
77. It hidnae been an awfie guid week for Geordie Jooks.
78. Bit it wis a gey thrawn cuddy, ye see.

Although they are mainly used in combination with adjectives, degree adverbs can be
found, particularly in informal speech, before nouns:

79. Stovies, that’s very Scottish. Mm, well maybe it’s very Dundee.
Av Aj Av N

Some might argue that the phrase very Dundee is ungrammatical, since it combines a
degree adverb and a proper noun. However, combinations like this are common and
easy to understand – here ‘Dundee’ is taken not as the city itself as a physical entity, but
as shorthand for the characteristics of the city, with a meaning something like ‘very
typical of Dundee’.

4.3.2 Circumstance Adverbs

Degree adverbs are sometimes grouped along with other circumstance adverbs, that is
adverbs that tell us more about the action of a verb. However, here we have separated
them, since degree adverbs usually appear as modifiers in an adjective or noun phrase
(so ageist, very Dundee) while other circumstance adverbs appear as the headword in
their own phrases, e.g. (so badly). Circumstance adverbs can be further distinguished on
the basis of the kinds of circumstantial meaning they add to an utterance or sentence. It
is often possible to identify them by asking questions about a sentence or utterance:

QUESTION ADVERB TYPE OF CIRCUMSTANCE

How did he sing? Badly Manner
When did he leave? Yesterday Time
Where is she now? Here Place

4.3.3 Attitude Adverbs

Attitude adverbs tell us something about the speaker’s opinion about the information
communicated. They therefore often occur at or near the beginnings of sentences or
utterances, to put the information in a kind of attitudinal ‘frame’.

80. and fortunately it was quite an easy birth, you know

How adverbs are sub-classified depends, as ever, on how they are used in any particular
case. Hopefully and sadly, for example, could be grouped with circumstance adverbs of
manner (how did someone do something?) rather than as attitude adverbs (how does the
speaker feel about what he or she is saying?) You can explore the SCOTS corpus to
determine which uses are more frequent. Can you distinguish the attitude adverbs from
the circumstantial adverbs of manner in the following examples?

81. Hopefully, this will tidy up this side of Gibson Street.

82. Sadly, he is dealing with the bereavement of a close personal friend.
83. I waited hopefully for better things.
84. Morag raises the sword sadly.

47
4.3.4 Connective Adverbs

Connective adverbs form a link between units in a piece of discourse, such as sentences.
Common ones include however, so, therefore, yet, too, also, and adverbs indicating a
position in a sequence, such as firstly, secondly, finally. The meanings of connective
adverbs tell us the relationship between the units of discourse that are being linked. In
example (85), therefore tells us that a result, effect or conclusion is being linked to its
cause; while in example (86) however links a piece of information with another piece
that qualifies or counters it:
85. I bow to my colleagues here, who are practising teachers and
CAUSE
therefore know what is happening on the ground on any particular day
+ EFFECT

86. Scots can perhaps be regarded as having reached its zenith as a recognised
national language suitable for every purpose of life about the time of the
Reformation in 1560.
STATEMENT
However, the process of evolution into a language distinct from English was
arrested in the middle of the century by the introduction of an English
translation of the bible by the reformers from Geneva.
+ QUALIFICATION

Since connective adverbs have a linking function, they are often confused with
conjunctions, the closed-class set of words that link together grammatical units. Adverbs
can often occupy different positions within a sentence, a feature which distinguishes
them from conjunctions. Compare the following sentences:

87. We were supposed to collect skis; however, the boots hadn’t arrived.
88. We were supposed to collect skis, but the boots hadn’t arrived.

The words however and but both connect the two parts of the sentences, but they are still
grammatically different – the first is an adverb while the second is a conjunction.
Consequently, they are governed by different rules, or constraints (note also the different
punctuation in each case). For example, the word however can be moved in the first
sentence:

87a. We were supposed to collect skis; the boots, however, hadn’t arrived.
87b.We were supposed to collect skis; the boots hadn’t arrived, however.

The word but cannot move in the same way:

88a. *We were supposed to collect skis; the boots but hadn’t arrived.
88b. *We were supposed to collect skis; the boots hadn’t arrived, but.

If the last of these examples sounds like a plausible sentence, it is because in some
varieties of spoken language in Scotland, but can be placed at the end of an utterance to
mark the end of a speaker’s turn:

89. Big fur his age, but.

48
 i

Here it is not, however, working as a connective adverb but as an interjection that

signals that the speaker has made his or her point and so invites the listener now to
contribute to the dialogue.

4.4 More about Verbs

Verbs have many fascinating characteristics, some of which are dealt with more fully in
the second part of this book. For the time being, it is sufficient to note some basic facts.
First of all, there are two types of verb: open-class main verbs (V), and closed-class
auxiliary verbs (a). The open-class main verbs carry the main meaning in the verb
phrase, and these verbs appear in two forms, present and past.

90. ‘My wife’s name was Fiona,’ I say. (present tense form)
V
91. ‘Aye,’ said Willie, fair delighted. (past tense form)
V

In addition, the main verb can optionally combine with one or more auxiliary verbs
which add certain types of meaning to the main verb. For example, auxiliary verbs can
add nuances of time reference and duration, or express concepts such as whether
something is hypothetical or fact, degree of certainty or obligation:

92. I did say I didn’t give a damn about Joe. (emphatic past tense)
a V
93. I would just say ‘bilin’ if it was a personal thing. (modal: habitual past event)
a V
94. It’s disgusting, I must say. (modal: obligation)
a V

There are Broad Scots versions of several of the modal auxiliaries, e.g.:

95. Thrawn, some micht say. (modal: possibility)

a V
96. The’re sumthin Ah maun say tae ye. (modal: obligation)
a V

However, as noted earlier, the differences between Scots and English modal usage go
beyond differences in form. Scottish speakers often prefer different ways of expressing
concepts like possibility and obligation, and sometimes avoid particular modal auxiliary
uses favoured south of the border.

These issues are dealt with more fully later. In the meantime, it is important simply to
note that all standard written sentences should include a verb phrase, and that this phrase
can be made up of a main verb on its own, or a main verb in combination with one or
more auxiliary verbs, e.g.:

97. I am fascinated by what you have been saying.

a a V

49
4.5 Practice Activities

These practice activities are intended to help you to review and understand the
information in the preceding chapters, and to test your progress in acquiring the skills
taught in this book. In general, the skills you are learning involve:

(1) the accurate classification of words, phrases, clauses and sentences,

using appropriate technical terms. Much of the first section of this
book is taken up with developing a common technical vocabulary.
(2) the accurate description of the relationship between words, phrases,
clauses and sentences.

These classificatory and descriptive skills are essential for the exploration of corpora
such as the SCOTS corpus. We need a common descriptive framework in order to
develop more sophisticated accounts of how communication in English and Scots
works.

Activity 1

Label the open-class parts of speech in the following passage from Sheila Mackay’s
Mountain Music, an extract from which can be found in the SCOTS corpus. Think about
the reasons behind your decisions – i.e. are you relying on meaning, form or function, or
a combination of the three? For convenience, sections of the passage are numbered.

(1) We blethered in French, our only common language.

(2) He spoke of an arduous journey, many months long, over deserts, dusty roads
and the sea itself,
(3) to get to Palma where he lives now in a barrio with other Sengali men.
(4) Later, I bought UV sunglasses from an older man
(5) who told me he had a wife and several children back home
(6) and that it would be one year and one month before he could go back.
(7) He was counting the days.

Look at the closed-class words in the passage. What can you say about their role in the
text compared to the open-class items?

Activity 2

From the underlined words in the passage, select examples of the following:
(a) a count noun (b) a gradable adjective (c) a comparative adjective (d) a non-
gradable adjective (e) a possessive determiner (f) an adverb of time (g) a preposition
(h) a conjunction (i) a main verb (j) a modal auxiliary verb (k) a pronoun

We blethered in French, our only common language. He spoke of an arduous journey,

many months long, over deserts, dusty roads and the sea itself, to get to Palma where he
lives now in a barrio with other Sengali men. Later, I bought UV sunglasses from an
older man who told me he had a wife and several children back home and that it would
be one year and one month before he could go back. He was counting the days.

Activity 3

Give your own examples of the following:

50
a) an open word-class item f) a pronoun
b) a closed word-class item g) a mass noun
c) a circumstance adverb of manner h) a non-gradable adjective
d) a connective adverb i) a determiner
e) a preposition j) a modal auxiliary verb

Take a sample of two open and two closed parts of speech from the examples you have
given and search the SCOTS corpus for them. Do your findings support your
classifications?

Activity 4

Label the ten underlined parts of speech in the following paragraph, also from Sheila
Mackay’s Mountain Music. Sort the ten items into open and closed parts of speech.

At a cornucopic vegetable stall, an ebullient young Mallorcan offers me a

Spanish lesson:
‘Espinacas.’ Holding up a bundle of dewy green leaves.
‘Medio kilo, por favor.’
Then a bunch of plump green beans:
‘Judias verdes,’ he smiles as I repeat: ‘Hoodias berdee’.
The lesson continues, my basket fills, and so pleased is he with our joint
effort that he throws in extra mandarins as a reward.

Activity 5

Label ALL the parts of speech in the first sentence of the above extract by writing the
abbreviation under each item, e.g.

Jack ran into the room.

N V pr d N

At a cornucopic vegetable stall, an ebullient young Mallorcan offers me a Spanish

lesson.

Activity 6

We noted in 4.2 and 4.3 that degree adverbs tend to be used with gradable adjectives,
e.g. very kind. One degree adverb is used with both gradable and non-gradable
adjectives. Look at the following examples and explain what the degree adverb quite
means when it is followed (a) by a gradable adjective and (b) by a non-gradable
adjective:
i) Her long face seemed quite kind.
ii) [their] parents are quite anxious
iii) That option was quite attractive.

iv) [we] were quite appalled

v) your father’s efforts on her behalf were quite astonishing
vi) She watches it burn thoughtfully. When it is quite burnt she bursts into tears.

51
It is evident from the examples above that quite has two very different meanings: when
it precedes a gradable adjective it can be substituted by another adverb like fairly, e.g.
fairly attractive; but when it precedes a non-gradable adjective it can be substituted by
an adverb like completely e.g. completely burnt. Depending on whether you understand
anxious as a gradable or an absolute state, quite anxious can either mean fairly anxious
or completely anxious. In spoken English, this ambiguity would be resolved by stress
and intonation – how would you pronounce the phrase to express the two different
senses?

As the example of anxious shows, it is not immediately clear whether adjectives are
inherently gradable or non-gradable. Look at the selected examples from concordance
lines that include the degree adverb very followed by an adjective. Try to sort the
adjectives into gradable and non-gradable adjectives. In the case of the non-gradable
adjectives, explain why the combination with a degree adverb is appropriate:

i) it was very brave of you

ii) it wisnae very big
iii) [his eyes] were exceptionally powerful and penetrating, very black
iv) a school essay written by a very bright pupil
v) we were very conscious of that
vi) I get very cross and kick her
vii) You are, I can tell, a very private person

It will be evident from the above that, as with count and mass nouns, the difference
between gradable and non-gradable adjectives can be a matter of perception that varies
from context to context. In example (v), you might argue that conscious, for example,
should express an absolute state – you are either conscious or unconscious – and
therefore it should be a non-gradable adjective. However, it is often used, as above, as a
synonym for aware, which is more of a scalar attribute, and so gradable. Therefore, we
can use conscious as a gradable adjective when we mean something like aware, and as a
non-gradable adjective when we mean the opposite of unconscious. Other unusual uses
in the above examples are very black (iii) and very private (vii), where the absolute,
non-gradable adjectives are being further intensified.

Now that you have reached the end of this Chapter, you should be confident in
identifying different kinds of word. We now go on to consider one of the most important
topics in grammar: how words cluster into phrases.

52
Chapter 5 Combining Words Into Phrases

5.0 About this Chapter

5.1 Phrases
5.2 Headwords
5.3 Modifiers
5.4 Types of Phrase
5.4.1 Noun Phrases (NP)
5.4.2 Verb Phrases (VP)
5.4.3 Adjective Phrases (AjP)
5.4.4 Genitive Phrases (GP)
5.4.5 Prepositional Phrases (PP)
5.4.6 Adverb Phrases (AvP)
5.5 Adverbs and Prepositions
5.6 Participles : are they Verbs, Adjectives or Nouns ?
5.7 Adjectives and Nouns as Modifiers
5.8 Activities

5.0 About this Chapter

So far we have looked mainly at words as individual grammatical constituents. In this

Chapter, we begin to consider how words combine with each other. We look at how
words are combined into phrases, as a first step towards combining them into larger
grammatical structures, namely clauses and sentences. The Chapter defines phrases,
considers the nature of their constituents (namely modifiers and headwords), outlines the
different types of phrase, and concludes by considering some issues that sometimes
make the analysis of phrases difficult.

5.1 Phrases

When we are doing grammatical analysis, we assume that a phrase consists of one or
more words. As noted in passing earlier, this is an example of how grammatical
terminology differs slightly from everyday usage, where ‘phrase’ usually means two or
more words. In grammar, we assume that a phrase can consist of a single word, which
can then be expanded or ‘projected’ into a phrase by the addition of certain other words,
eg.

1. coffee one-word phrase

2. Turkish coffee two-word phrase
3. sweet, Turkish coffee three-word phrase
4. strong, sweet, Turkish coffee four-word phrase
etc.

When parsing, we identify phrases by using round brackets. It is important to be

consistent in this – square brackets and other kinds of bracket are used to signify other
types of grammatical constituent. For each word in a phrase, we put an abbreviation
below the line to indicate (a) the form of the phrase, and (b) the word-classes inside the
phrase:

5. (We) (drank) (coffee.)

NP pn VP V NP N

6. (The Russians) (were drinking) (strong, sweet, Turkish coffee.)

NP d N VP a V NP Aj Aj Aj N

53
Sentence (6) is longer than sentence (5), but its structure is essentially the same. Both
sentences contain three phrases each: two noun phrases (NPs) and one verb phrase (VP).
The three phrases in Sentence (6) consist of more than one word. Think about the
relationship between the words within each phrase of Sentence (6). We shall return to
this topic below.

5.2 Headwords

The most important word in a phrase is the headword or head (H), which gives the
phrase its name. For the purposes of analysis, we assume that each phrase has one (and
only one) headword – although there are some grammarians who dispute this rule.

Thus in sentence (5) we have two Noun Phrases (NP), the first consisting of a single
pronoun (pn) and the second of a single noun (N). They are linked by a Verb Phrase
(VP) consisting of a single verb. Since each phrase consists of only one word, that word
must be the headword, and is marked H above the line.
H H H
5. (We) (drank) (coffee.)
NP pn VP V NP N

In a multi-word phrase, we can identify the headword by means of a subtraction test, i.e.
by stripping away words in order to see which words are essential to the structure of the
sentence. By using subtraction, we can reduce The Russians were drinking strong,
sweet, Turkish coffee to different sequences, e.g.:
6a. (Russians) (drinking) (coffee)
6b. (The) (were) (strong, sweet, Turkish)

Although not grammatically well-formed, the first example does communicate all the
basic information in the sentence. The second example does not convey much
information on its own. This tells us that the headwords are the nouns and the main verb,
rather than the adjectives and the auxiliary verb. The adjectives and the auxiliary verb
modify the headwords. Therefore, a fuller analysis of the sentence is:

M H M H M M M H
6. (The Russians) (were drinking) (strong, sweet, Turkish coffee.)
NP d N VP a V NP Aj Aj Aj N

This may look like a complicated diagram, but take a few seconds to look at it
systematically.

i) The three phrases are shown in round brackets.

ii) We give each phrase a phrase label below, e.g. NP, VP
iii) We give each individual word a word label below, e.g. d, N, a, V.
iv) We show how each individual word relates to the others in each phrase by
labelling each word as a modifier (M) or a headword (H).

Steps (iii) and (iv) in this process tell us respectively the form of each word (i.e. the
class to which it belongs, and its function (ie whether or not it modifies the other words
in the phrase).

54
5.3 Modifiers

Words like adjectives (‘strong, sweet, Turkish’) and auxiliary verbs (‘were’) function as
modifiers in the phrase. That is, they give us extra information about the headword,
usually by narrowing down its meaning to make it more specific.

Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of modifiers we can add to a phrase, but
the presence of too many can be aesthetically unpleasing, or difficult for the mind to
process. From the SCOTS corpus concordance for the word ‘incredible’, for example,
we find uses of the adjective as the sole modifier in a noun phrase:

7. incredible hands

We also find the adjective as part of a much longer noun phrase:

8. the most incredible littoral explosions

Note that determiners, like adjectives, function as modifiers. In the second NP, ‘the’
has a specifying function, indicating to the reader, in this case, that the identity of the set
of explosions in question can be recovered from the text itself – the sentence goes on to
relate that they were in fact ‘on a flow south of here’.

Many word-forms in English can be both nouns and adjectives. A concordance search
for the word ‘yellow’, for example, gives both adjective uses and noun uses, as we see
in these examples of a parent talking to a young child:

9. See, you’re putting the yellow pen onto the blue.

10. I think you’ve mixed some o the yellow and some o the red into that white.

In (9) the words the and yellow modify the noun pen. The phrase is therefore classified
as a Noun Phrase (NP), and the modifier yellow is an adjective.

In (10) the word yellow is the headword, and it is modified by the determiner the. The
phrase is therefore clearly a Noun Phrase – but how do we classify the headword? Either
we can say that it is an adjective acting as the headword of a Noun Phrase, or we can re-
classify the word in this context as a noun. Our dilemma may be represented thus:

M H
10a. the yellow
d Aj/N?

There are various arguments for adopting either approach; however, for the purposes of
this book we shall adopt the latter approach, and argue that if a word functions as a noun
(e.g. if it is a headword modified by a determiner) then it is a noun. In the tasks in the
previous section, we saw similar issues with the adjectives French and Mallorcan,
which can also function as the headwords of Noun Phrases, e.g.

11. I tried my French out on the oldest member.

Here, we can argue that French is effectively a noun. It is the headword of a NP, it is
modified by a determiner my, and it could be used alongside an adjective, e.g. my poor
French. In many ways, then, it passes the test of ‘nounness’, even though formally it
looks like an adjective.

55
5.4 Types of Phrases

So far, then, we have established that phrases are generally made up of a headword with
an optional and variable number of modifiers. We can even classify a word by looking
at whether it is functioning as a headword or modifier, and how it interacts with other
words in the phrase. We now turn to the main types of phrase in more detail.

There are six types of phrase in the system of grammar described in this book:

Noun Phrase (NP) Verb Phrase (VP)

Adjective Phrase (AjP) Genitive Phrase (GP)
Adverb Phrase (AvP) Prepositional Phrase (PP)

In the examples below, we shall focus on each phrase in turn, showing each in the
context of a sentence. We analyse each of the other phrases in the sentence for future
reference ; however, at a first reading you should pay particular attention to the form and
function labels that are in bold.

5.4.1 Noun Phrases (NP)

The headword in a NP is usually either a noun or a pronoun (for pronouns, see 3.1.2
above). Occasionally, as we have just seen, the headword can be a word otherwise used
as an adjective, as in the yellow above. There are two NPs in the following sentence:

H M H M M H
12. (This) (should be) (a happy day)
NP pn VP a V NP d Aj N

A NP can contain one or more modifiers; these are usually determiners, adjectives or
nouns other than the headword, as in:

M M M H
13. (the international book festival)
NP d Aj N N

5.4.2 Verb Phrases (VP)

It is important to remember that the headword of a VP is always a verb. As we have

seen, verbs are divided into the open-class MAIN VERBS (V), which carry most of the
lexical meaning, e.g. talk, run, love etc., and closed-class AUXILIARY VERBS (a),
which modify the main verb. The main verb is always the headword. The PRIMARY
AUXILIARIES (be, have, do) can be either main verbs or auxiliaries depending on
whether they stand alone or modify other verbs. A search of the SCOTS corpus for
consider* results in, among other items, different forms of the verb (consider, considers,
considered, considering) either standing alone or modified by different kinds of
auxiliary verb, e.g.

H H H
14. (Consider) (yourself) (lucky.)
VP V NP pn AjP Aj

H M H H M H H
15. (We) (don’t consider) (it) (a swearword) (now.)
NP pn VP a V NP pn NP d N AvP Av

56
 H M H M H x H
16. (We) (are considering) (the petitions) (before us.)
NP pn VP a V NP d N PP pr pn

M H M H M H
17. (Other areas) (might consider) (that approach.)
NP d N VP a V NP d N

H M H M M H H
18. (We) (must consider) (our next steps) (soon.)
NP pn VP a V NP d Aj N AvP Av

5.4.3 Adjective Phrases (AjP)

The headword of an AjP is an adjective. Remember that adjectives can simply appear as
modifiers in a NP, as in the first example below. But sometimes the adjective itself is
modified, and so it becomes the headword of its own phrase, embedded inside the NP,
as in the second example (and as we shall see in more detail later). AjPs are also treated
as separate if the adjective is separated from the noun it modifies by a linking verb:

H M H M H
19. (he) (’s got) (incredible hands.)
NP pn VP a V NP Aj N

H M H M M H M H
20. (you) (can see) (the (most incredible) littoral explosions.)
NP pn VP a V NP d AjP Av Aj Aj N

x H H H
21. Gosh, (that) (’s) (incredible.)
i NP pn VP V AjP Aj

In the last of the three examples given above, gosh is an interjection, here labelled as an
‘x’. We do not consider that interjections systematically combine with other words to
form phrases, and so we do not enclose it in brackets or consider it to be either a
headword or a modifier. We treat golly gosh, oh gosh and even by gosh as single
interjections too.

5.4.4 Genitive Phrases (GP)

Genitive phrases indicate a range of relationships such as possession, and they are
marked by the use of the apostrophe, as in the boy’s book (singular) or ladies’ shoes
(plural). This curious way of marking possession in Present-Day English, which causes
so much confusion, is a relic of the Old English grammatical system. A thousand years
ago, English marked the relationships between words by adding certain grammatical
signals called inflexions to them (see further Hough and Corbett, 2006). In OE, <es>
was added to certain nouns to indicate possession. The <’s> in PDE is a survivor of this
ancient system, in which the possessive form is labelled ‘the genitive’:

Old English: stān genitive: stānes

Present-Day English: stone genitive: stone’s

57
It is difficult to treat this throwback to Old English grammar in a description of the
modern language. In this book, we resolve the issue by treating words like stone’s as a
phrase that can usually be paraphrased by a Prepositional Phrase with of, as in of the stone.
This alternative way of indicating possession in English is a later innovation, based on
French grammar. The headword of a Genitive Phrase is the noun plus the apostrophe
plus s; this complex headworde can be modified in the same way as other NPs. The
main difference is that a Genitive Phrase tends to be used as a whole to modify another
noun, in a NP or a Prepositional Phrase. Examples of Genitive Phrases from the SCOTS
corpus include:

H H M M H H
22. (this) (is) (a (children’s) book)
NP pn VP V NP d GP N N

M H H x M M H H
23. (your name) (went) (in (the policeman’s) book)
NP d N VP V PP pr GP d N N

There are some tricky issues that the analyses above gloss over. The main one is to do
with the determiner that comes before the Genitive Phrase – does it properly relate to the
headword of the GP or to the headword of the NP in which it is embedded? In the first
example, this is quite easy to answer: we would not say *this is a book of a children. In
other words, the determiner, a, seems to relate to the headword book, not to children’s,
so we place it outside the GP, but inside the NP. The second example is more
ambiguous, because we can quite happily rephrase this as in the book of the policeman.
Consequently, it is unclear whether to situate the determiner the inside the GP or not. In
this case, we might argue that we can replace the policeman with his to give in his book,
and so the determiner is best analysed as part of the GP. Genitive Phrases can be further
expanded, for example by adding adjectives that describe the headword. Compare:

H H M M M H H
24. (this) (is) (a super (children’s) book) = the book is super
NP pn VP V NP d Aj GP N N

H H M M M H H
25. (this) (is) (a (young children’s) book) = the children are young
NP pn VP V NP d GP Aj N N

Examples (24) and (25) illustrate a general principle in the analysis of phrase structure,
namely that we are interested in showing how words relate to each other within the
phrase – how, for instance, do the adjectives super and young relate to the other words
in their respective phrases? The bracketing is an attempt to make these relationships
explicit.

5.4.5 Prepositional Phrases (PP)

Prepositional Phrases (PPs) are easy to identify because they always begin with a
preposition. Pre-position literally means ‘the position before a NP’. This is the position
where most prepositions occur for the good reason that prepositions turn NPs into PPs.
Many PPs give us extra information about the place or time of an action:

x M M H M H H H
26. (By the fourteenth century) (the (king’s) territories) (were)
PP pr d d N NP d GP N N VP V

58
 M M H
(productive earthly paradises.)
NP Aj Aj N

Other PP’s are used metaphorically. Below, ‘love’ is being conceptualised as some kind
of space into which people fall.

H H H H H x H
27. (boy) (meets) (girl,) (they) (fall) (in love)
NP N VP V NP N NP pn VP V PP pr N

The reason why we put an ‘x’ above the line for prepositions was touched upon earlier –
prepositions, like interjections, function neither as headwords nor modifiers. Rather,
prepositions like by, in, on, over, and so on, indicate the relationship between the words
that follow them and the rest of the sentence. They are essentially grammatical signals
that indicate how phrases relate to each other.

5.4.6 Adverb Phrases (AvP)

Adverb phrases have adverbs as headwords. An adverb phrase can be a single adverb, or
it can consist of an adverb as headword, modified by another adverb. In general, Adverb
Phrases give us extra information about such things as the time, place or manner of the
action described by the verb.

H M H H
28. (Britain) (is over-reacting) (hysterically.) MANNER
NP N VP a V AvP Av

H M H H
29. (Domestics) (were paid) (monthly.) TIME
NP N VP a V AvP Av

x H H H M H
30. Well (I) (left) (it) (right there.) PLACE
i NP pn VP V NP pn AvP Av Av

The meanings of AvP’s have much in common with Prepositional Phrases, since they
too often give us information about time, place or manner. For example, the AvP in the
first two of the above examples could be rephrased as Britain is over-reacting in a
hysterical way; Domestics were paid by the month.

Degree Adverbs
As we saw in 4.4.1, there is a subset of adverbs that act as modifiers within Adjective
and Adverb Phrases, specifically to intensify or downplay the quality expressed by an
adjective or the manner of an action expressed by an adverb. The modifiers are called
degree adverbs, and they include very, rather, quite, fairly, so, much, extremely, totally
and others. Note how they function in the following phrases:

H H M H x M H
31. (Fiona) (looked) (so beautiful) (in her anger.)
NP N VP V AjP Av Aj PP pr d N

59
 H M H M H
32. (They) (are doing) (extremely badly.)
NP pn VP a V AvP Av Av

It is clear from the spoken documents in the SCOTS corpus that certain degree adverbs
are increasingly popular in the conversation of younger people, for instance when one
speaker is agreeing emphatically with another, as in the following use of totally:

33. F812: //do you know what I mean?//

F813: //mmhm// totally

Totally is one of several adverbs that can be used by themselves to make an emphatic
confirmation – others are absolutely, and certainly. As well as being the headword of an
adverb phrase, these adverbs can, of course, intensify other adverbs, for example, in
another conversation from the SCOTS data:

M H
34. it gave them then a chance to like chat about stuff (totally informally)
AvP Av Av

The range of emphatic uses of totally in conversational English seems to be extending,

as in the following examples, taken from different SCOTS conversations:

35. I totally didn’t see your note this morning

36. she was totally kind of grumpy

This kind of grammatical creativity is common in the language of younger people; it

marks off each succeeding generation as a distinct social group.

5.5 Adverbs and Prepositions

As we saw above, the meanings of AvPs and PPs have much in common. The same is
true of individual adverbs and prepositions, and we therefore often find the same form
being used for both parts of speech. The golden rule for distinguishing them is that a
preposition is ALWAYS combined with another word, usually a noun phrase or a
pronoun. An adverb, by contrast, is an independent unit. Compare the different
grammatical roles played by the word inside in examples (37) and (38) from the SCOTS
corpus:

H H H H
37. (he) (remains) (unchanged) (inside)
NP pn VP V AjP Aj AvP Av

H M M H x M M H
38. (that) (could be concealed) (inside the trouser leg)
NP pn a a V PP pr d N N

5.6 Participles: are they Verbs, Adjectives or Nouns?

Participles are forms of the verb that function as part of verb phrases. The participle
forms of regular verbs end in -ing and -ed, as in walking, and walked. Although these
forms are called, respectively, the present and past participles, they actually require an
auxiliary verb to indicate the tense in a full verb phrase, e.g. is/was walking and has/had
walked.

60
As will be evident in examples (37) and (38) above, with respect to unchanged and
concealed, participles often develop into either adjectives or nouns. The participle
changed has clearly become an adjective that has in turn been negated as unchanged.
After all, we do not have in English the verb to unchange.

The multi-functionality of participles can sometimes cause ambiguity and hence

problems for grammatical analysis. Examples (39) and (40) from the SCOTS corpus
illustrate the issue:

39. their flesh is hidden

40. the deprivation is hidden by the area’s relative wealth

In each of these extracts, hidden is a participle. The question is whether it is functioning

as part of a Verb Phrase or part of an Adjective Phrase. To answer this kind of question,
we can apply some possible tests.

Test 1: Passive to Active Verb

If the participle in question is a verb, then we should be able to change the verb phrase
from the active to the passive voice (see further, Chapter 9). In other words, in the
examples above, we should be able plausibly to change X is hidden to Y hides X. We can
do this easily with example (40), changing the deprivation is hidden to the area’s
relative wealth hides the deprivation. In the case of (40), then, it looks very much as if
hidden is the main verb, and is is an auxiliary verb. However, it is less clear that we can
rephrase example (39) as something hides their flesh. To consider this example further
we can apply a second test.

Test 2: True Adjectives

True adjectives can appear in two positions:

(i) in attributive position before the noun that they modify, e.g.

M M H
41. (The happy couple)
NP d Aj N

or (ii) in PREDICATIVE position after the NP + linking verb:

M H H H
42. (The world) (is) (happy)
NP d N VP V AjP Aj

If they are gradable, adjectives can take comparative and superlative forms, and be
modified by degree adverbs, e.g. The happier/happiest couple; The very happy couple.
Finally, participles which have undergone conversion to adjectives can form compound
adjectives, e.g. good-looking, hard-boiled, shit-scared.

If we look again at The flesh is hidden, we see that we can satisfy all the tests of
adjective status for hidden in this context. We can, for example, rephrase this sentence
as a phrase with the participle in attributive position (the hidden flesh) and we could turn
the participle into a compound adjective (the half-hidden flesh). There is, then, a good
case for considering hidden in example (39) as an adjective. Of course, these two
examples are reasonably clear-cut. There will remain cases where each possible analysis
of the participle, as verb or adjective, will remain as plausible as the other.

61
5.7 Adjectives and Nouns as modifiers

Grammatical tests can be applied to other cases where it might not be immediately
obvious how to classify a word in a phrase. For example, in noun or adjective phrases, it
is not always immediately clear whether a modifier is an adjective or a noun. In the
SCOTS corpus the word cream modifies a number of nouns, including blouse and cake.
We can apply the test for true adjectives above to decide in which instances cream
should be considered an adjective and in which it should be considered a noun modifier:

43. cream blouse the blouse was cream, a very cream blouse

44. cream cake *the cake was cream, *a very cream cake

For example (a), the rephrasing satisfies the adjective test, and so cream can be
considered an adjective in this context. However, the rephrasing of (b) sounds odder,
and so in this context cream is probably still best considered as a noun modifier.

43. cream blouse the blouse was cream, a very cream blouse
Aj N
44. cream cake *the cake was cream, *a very cream cake
N N

5.8 Activities

In earlier chapters we were concerned mainly with the classification of individual

words. In this Chapter, we have taken the next step towards a full grammatical analysis
by considering how words relate to each other in phrases (ie their function).

Activity 1
Look at sentences (a) to (j) and follow the steps given below:

1. Identify the parts of speech (e.g. d, Aj, N, V, etc.), and write the appropriate
abbreviation underneath each item.

2. Identify the words that go together as modifiers and headwords. Put round
brackets around these sequences or phrases. Each phrase should contain one
headword. There need not be any modifier, but there may be three or four.
Remember that prepositions, conjunctions and interjections are marked with an x.
Conjunctions and interjections usually fall outside the bracketed phrases.

3. Label the phrases that you have bracketed (e.g. NP, VP, AjP, AvP, PP). Most
phrases are named after their headword (the exception is the PP which consists of
a preposition and a NP). These abbreviations go below and in front of the opening
bracket.

As an example, these steps are followed for part of a sentence below, taken from Sheila
Mackay’s novel Mountain Music, an extract from which is in the SCOTS corpus
(Document 1440):

I could see the driver clearly through the windscreen mirror.

62
Step 1 (Identifying parts of speech)

I could see the driver clearly through the windscreen mirror.

pn a V d N Av pr d N N

Step 2 (Identifying modifiers and headwords)

H M H M H H x M M H
(I) (could see) (the driver) (clearly) (through the windscreen mirror.)
pn a V d N Av pr d N N

Step 3 (Labelling phrases)

H M H M H H x M M H
(I) (could see) (the driver) (clearly) (through the windscreen mirror.)
NP pn VP a V NP d N AvP Av PP pr d N N

Now try these sentences, also taken from Sheila Mackay’s Mountain Music:

(a) My entire being concentrated on the task.

(b) In my agitation, I lost control.
(c) The car somersaulted.
(d) The roof hit the rock.
(e) Everything went black.
(f) A nurse leaned impatiently over me.
(g) I stared at her in astonishment.
(h) Dried blood coloured my hair red.
(i) A large yellow-blue-black bruise had spread over my right cheek and round my
eye.
(j) That skeletal image might have been my reality.

Activity 2
Consider the sentences below. Imagine how you would explain to someone, using
accurate grammatical terminology, why one sentence sounds perfectly acceptable, and
the other does not:
1. She ordered a very large whisky.
2. She ordered a very malt whisky.
How would you explain to a learner of English as a second language how the following
phrases are constructed and what they mean?

Yes, I would say it’s very Perth as well, to be skint.

He doesn’t seem very rock and roll, does he, Jasper Carrott.

63
Chapter 6 Describing Complex Phrases

6.0 About this Chapter

6.1 Co-ordination of Words and Phrases
6.2 Subordination of Phrases
6.3 Types of Embedded Phrase
6.3.1 Prepositional Phrases within Noun Phrases
6.3.2 Noun Phrases and Adjective Phrases as Modifiers
6.3.3 Nouns in Apposition
6.3.4 Distinguishing Embedded Elements from Discontinuous Elements
6.4 Summary
6.5 Activities

6.0 About this Chapter

One characteristic feature of the grammar of most languages is that different structures
are not simply strung together in a linear fashion. We also embed structures inside other
structures. In this chapter, we take our first sustained look at how embedding occurs. We
first contrast the stringing together of different structure (co-ordination) with the
embedding of one structure inside another (subordination). We then look at some
characteristic types of embedded phrase, before considering the practical issue of how to
distinguish between embedded elements and discontinuous grammatical structures.

6.1 Co-ordination of Words and Phrases

So far, with a few exceptions, we have dealt with simple phrases, that is, phrases that
contain one headword, and a variable number of modifiers. However, most English
phrases are complex – that is, phrases that are either (i) linked together using a
coordinating conjunction, or (ii) embedded one inside another.

The easier of the two ways to make phrases more complicated is simply to add them
together, using a co-ordinating conjunction such as and, but or or. And so, we can say
things like the bill and the draft regulations would give them a framework. In saying
this, we join together the two NPs the bill and the draft regulations. We can show words
or phrases linked together by co-ordinating conjunctions by using angle brackets <…>:

M H x M M H
1. <(The bill) and (the draft regulations)>
NP d N c NP d N N

The angle brackets here show that we have a sequence made up of two NPs, linked by
the co-ordinating conjunction, and.

Sometimes it is important to think about where angle brackets are placed when joining
sequences of words together. Consider the following sentence:

2. The working group is […] to address the draft regulations and guidance.

This sentence could in fact be ambiguous: it could mean that only the regulations were
in draft, or it could mean that both the regulations and the guidance were in draft form.
We can use the angle brackets to show how much of the phrase the noun modifier draft
applies to in each possible interpretation of the phrase:

M M H x H
2a. (the <draft regulations and guidance>)
NP d N N c N

64
 M M H x H
2b. (the draft <regulations and guidance>)
NP d N N c N

Notice that in the above examples the angled brackets do not necessarily correspond to
the boundaries of an individual phrase. In (2a) they show that the two elements linked as
a whole are draft regulations and guidance. In this analysis, the guidance is not
necessarily in draft. In (2b), the elements linked are regulations and guidance, and the
analysis suggests that the words the and draft modify both of the linked headwords, i.e.
we assume that the guidance is also in draft.

One observation to be made about this example is that in formal, legal language great
care must be taken to avoid ambiguity, and so, at times, legislators can appear to be
needlessly explicit. The SCOTS corpus contains a great deal of written parliamentary
discourse of a legal nature. The need for unambiguous communication is evident in
examples such as the following, in which draft is repeated to avoid misunderstanding:

3. …the system as laid out in the draft bill and draft legislation would allow
them to continue to use their own committees and procedures for civic
government licensing.

Different types of phrase can be co-ordinated by and, but and or, e.g.

x x H x x H
4. …people’s appearances can change, <either (by accident) or (by design)>.
c pr N c pr N

Here two prepositional phrases, by accident and by design, together form a single but
complex sequence, linked by the conjunction either…or. Again, we can use angle
brackets to show the coordination of words and phrases.

6.2 Subordination of Phrases

A powerful concept in the analysis of grammar is that of subordination, or the

embedding of one grammatical constituent, like a phrase, inside another. This is so
frequent that we have actually already encountered it in the previous chapter, when
looking at Adjective Phrases and Genitive Phrases. Here we demonstrate in more detail
how it applies generally to phrase structure (that is, how it applies to the combination of
modifiers and headword that make up the phrase). Subordination is one of the most
important grammatical concepts you will encounter. In order to understand
subordination, you need to have a good grasp of the earlier Chapters. You also need to
get into the habit of looking closely at the meanings of grammatical structures.

The opening paragraphs below, of an interview with Michael Stipe, conducted by Paul
English for the Daily Record (SCOTS Document 1620), exhibit a perfectly normal level
of subordination for English, but even so many of them are grammatically quite
complex.

5. Michael Stipe is refreshed. It’s 1pm and the jet-lagged REM frontman is
picking at a brunch of boiled eggs, melon slices and berries.

‘I’m not big on breakfast,’ he says. ‘I got up late today. ‘But I think I’m
awake now.’ The lead singer of the US stadium rockers, once dubbed the

65
 biggest band in the world, looks typically moody as he sits in a Kensington
hotel room.

His expression is deadpan, framed with a pair of Woody Allen specs, like an
outsized comedy accessory engulfing his small features. A salt-and-pepper
carpet of stubble covers his boney face and he speaks in a soft, throaty
murmur - nothing like the singing voice the world knows so well.

‘I had a day off yesterday which I was so happy with,’ he says. ‘I needed it.’

But the rest isn’t the only reason the 44-year-old is refreshed.

After spending a quarter of a century as the figurehead of a global

phenomenon, he has finally been able to put the ‘strain’ of selling 50 million
albums behind him.

‘I found it really liberating to release the Best Of album last year,’ says the
enigmatic singer, referring to In Time: The Best of REM 1988-2003.

‘In some ways it summarised the work people know us best for.

‘So when I wrote this stuff I didn’t feel the new songs were sitting on my
shoulder, saying, ‘You have to be as good as we are.’ I love a song like Man
On The Moon. I loved writing it and I love performing it. It’s an astonishing
piece of music. But I don’t have to remember that every time I go to write a
new song.

‘Releasing the Best Of was one of the things that spurred me into a period of
prolific writing, the likes of which I’d never experienced before.’

The band’s PR arrives and hands him a double espresso.

‘Jesus,’ he says. ‘What are you trying to do, kill me?’

What distinguishes these sentences from most of those we have been dealing with up to
now? One answer is that their phrase structure allows the embedding of phrases and
larger constituents inside other phrases. Some of the phrases that include embedded
elements (in italics) are:

5a a brunch of boiled eggs...

5b The lead singer of the US stadium rockers
5c the biggest band in the world
5d a pair of Woody Allen specs
5e A salt-and-pepper carpet of stubble
5f the singing voice the world knows so well
5g a day off yesterday which I was so happy with
5h the only reason the 44-year-old is refreshed
5i a quarter of a century
5j the figurehead of a global phenomenon
5k the ‘strain’ of selling 50 million albums
5l the work people know us best for
5m an astonishing piece of music
5n every time I go to write a new song
5o a period of prolific writing

66
So far, we have thought of phrases largely as a sequence of words, some of which are
modifiers and some of which are headwords. All words are elements of a lower rank, or
lower level of grammar, than a phrase. That is to say, we tend to find words inside
phrases, not phrases inside words. But a complete phrase can also act as a constituent of
another phrase – in other words, a full phrase can, like a single word, go inside another
phrase and act as a modifier or a headword in that phrase.

The sole instance of this kind of embedded phrase that we have so far encountered is the
Genitive Phrase (5.4.4), which, as we saw in the last chapter, functions as a modifier in
another phrase. An example of a Genitive phrase is

M M H H
5p. ( (the band’s) PR)
NP GP d N N

Here, the Genitive Phrase the band’s modifies the headword of the Noun Phrase, PR.
The Genitive Phrase could be substituted by a single determiner, like their. Since
embedded phrases function like single words, we sometimes say they are rank-shifted;
in other words, by acting as a modifier or headword within another phrase, they shift in
rank from phrase level to word level in the grammatical hierarchy.

6.3 Embedded Phrases

Let us turn now to different examples of embedded phrases acting as modifiers inside
other phrases. The examples are not exhaustive, but they do illustrate the principles by
which one phrase is subordinated to another.

6.3.1 Prepositional Phrases within Noun Phrases

If you look at the examples taken from the interview with Michael Stipe, above, it will
be clear that many examples of rank-shifting, subordination, or embedding (all three
terms describe exactly the same basic process) occur when a Prepositional Phrase is
embedded within a Noun Phrase. The embedded PP functions as a modifier in the host
NP:

M
(… (…) )
NP PP

e.g.
M M H M x M M M H
5b. (The lead singer (of the US stadium rockers))
NP d N N PP pr d N N N

Effectively, the possibility of embedding means that if you find a PP in a sentence you
are analysing, you must ask yourself if it is a phrase in its own right or if it is
subordinate to a word (e.g. acting as a modifier to a noun). Consider the role of the PPs
in the sentences below, both taken from SCOTS data:

6. I think we’ll have coffee in the garden

7. The sunshine in the garden had weakened

In (6), the PP answers the question ‘Where will we have coffee?’ The PP is not acting as
a modifier to any of the other words in the sentence.

67
In (7) the PP is more closely associated with the head of the NP – indeed the PP
identifies which area of sunshine was weakening – namely, ‘the sunshine in the garden’.
The PP thus functions like a determiner in that it identifies the sunshine.

In example (7), then, like the lead singer of the US stadium rockers, the PP must be
placed within the NP brackets as an embedded constituent. The whole embedded PP
functions as an M, and therefore it is labelled so, above the line. But it also has its own
phrase structure, and that is indicated by the x, M and H within the PP. The NP in
example (7) therefore has an overall structure of (MHM). The first modifier is the
determiner, the, and the second modifier is the PP in the garden, which in turn has the
structure (xMH):

M H M x M H
7. (The sunshine (in the garden)) had weakened
NP d N PP pr d N

Note the position of the brackets in the NP: the brackets of the main phrase do not close
until after the brackets of the embedded phrase.

There is, of course, the possibility of multiple subordination. The example below from
the SCOTS corpus shows an example of a sequence of embeddings:

M M H M x M H M x MH MxH
8. (the main room (in the house (with a TV (in it))))
NP d Aj N PP pr d N PP pr d N PP pr pn

The modification of a noun can take place either before it (pre-modification) or after it
(post-modification). The choice of whether to use a pre-modifier or a post-modifier is a
stylistic decision, as the following examples from the SCOTS corpus show:

9. I am sure that deaf and hearing impaired people will also appreciate it.

10. to raise awareness of the problems that people with hearing impairments face

In example (9) the noun people is pre-modified by hearing impaired, while in example
(10) the same noun is post-modified by an embedded Prepositional Phrase, with hearing
impairments.

6.3.2 NP’s and AjP’s as modifiers

Direct subordination also occurs with AjPs and NPs, both of which can have a
modifying function. The commonest functions of an Aj are (i) as a pre-modifier (mouldy
bread) or, (ii) as a headword that occurs after certain types of verb (e.g. The bread looks
mouldy). Adjectives are sometimes piled up in sequence, as below:

M M M M H
11. (bonnie, wee, bright-coloured, sparkling things)
NP Aj Aj Aj Aj N

In this case it is clear that all the adjectives modify the noun, things. We could subtract
one or two of them and still have a phrase with an acceptable structure. However,
sometimes the function of an adjective is less clear-cut:

12. a significant skills shortage

d Aj N N

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This could be paraphrased as either

M H M x M H
12a. ( a shortage (of significant skills))
NP d N PP pr Aj N
or
M M H M x H
12b. ( a significant shortage ( of skills))
NP d Aj N PP pr N

It can be seen from the bracketing of (12a) and (12b) that the phrase is ambiguous
because it is not clear which noun significant modifies. The ambiguity can be shown by
bracketing the phrase in two ways.

M M M H H
12c. ( a (significant skills) shortage)
NP d NP Aj N N

M M H M H
12d. ( a significant (skills shortage))
NP d Aj NP N N

In (12c) the headword shortage is pre-modified by a determiner, a, and an embedded

NP, significant skills. The embedded NP also has its own structure, a modifier, the Aj
significant, and a headword, the N skills. In (12d) the bracketing reveals a different
meaning. Here the modifiers a and significant pre-modify a headword which is itself a
NP, skills shortage. The embedded NP again has its own structure, a modifying N food,
and a headword, the N shortage.

Notice that the two ways of bracketing the NP disambiguate the two possible meanings.
The key difference lies in which element of the NP the Aj significant is modifying – the
skills or the shortage?

Embedding also commonly occurs when an Aj is modified by a degree Av, as in:

M M M H H
13. (a (very amusing) speech)
NP d AjP Av Aj N

In this case subordination has to be marked because very modifies the Aj but does not
directly modify the N. This is evident if we subtract the Aj, because we are then left
with

14. * a very speech.

Ambiguity can also occur within AjPs:

15. We need more regional representation

The double meaning of this can be shown by the following paraphrases:

15a. We need representation that is more regional in quality.

15b. We have regional representation but we need a greater quantity of it.

69
The different meanings of the paraphrases can also be shown by analysing the original
sentence in two ways. The analyses below match the meanings given directly above:

M M H H
15a. (We) (need) ( (more regional) representation)
NP AjP Av Aj N

M M H
15b. (We) (need) (more regional representation)
NP d Aj N

Here the ambiguity resides in the fact that more can function in one of two ways in this
phrase – either as a degree adverb modifying an adjective, more regional (15a), or as a
determiner modifying a noun, more representation (15b). Each analysis is
grammatically correct. The ambiguity is probably resolved in actual communication by
the linguistic context – or by the fact that here the meanings are sufficiently close that
the listener (in this case to a Scottish Parliamentary debate) engages in ‘shallow
processing’, that is, choosing which of the two senses makes most sense at the time. In
the above case, the fuller linguistic context is as follows:

15c. We need a longer-term approach to secure a change in the way in which the
European Union conducts its business in fishing and in other areas. We
need more regional representation and more rights for regions and for
nations to ensure that decisions that are made at a European level are
properly implemented locally. Those are our objectives in the shorter and
longer terms. I believe that they are right.

Which of the two analyses do you think is more plausible in this context, and why?

6.3.3 Nouns in Apposition

A further case where embedding occurs is in apposition, where one NP is defined by

another, as in:
M H M H
16. Much was said today about (the First Minister, (Donald Dewar.))
NP d N NP N

For convenience, the first NP is always taken as the main phrase, and the second NP is
treated as a post-modifier. For convenience, too, proper names (Donald Dewar) and
titles (First Minister) are treated as single nouns, though the latter could be treated as
determiner plus a noun.

6.3.4 Distinguishing Embedded Elements from Discontinuous Elements

As we have seen, adverbs can modify adjectives and so form Adjective Phrases that are
then embedded in Noun Phrases, such as the example given as (13) above, and reprinted
below:

M M M H H
13. ( a (very amusing) speech)
NP d AjP Av Aj N

Adverbs and Adverb Phrases also pop up inside Verb Phrases – but not as modifiers.
Because adverbs and Adverb Phrases are quite mobile, they frequently appear in

70
between auxiliary verbs and main verbs, as we can see, for example, if we do a
concordance search in the SCOTS corpus for can *ly. Some of the results are shown
below:

17. Very few people can actually understand pure Urdu...

18. We can certainly add universities that are not on the academia list...
19. This activity can easily be varied...
20. I can hardly believe Christmas is here...

Although these adverbs look as if they are modifying the main verb, they are actually
modifying the entire Verb Phrase, or sometimes the clause as a whole. As a result, they
can usually be moved from their present position to a position elsewhere in the clause,
e.g.

17a. Actually, very few people can understand pure Urdu...

18a. We certainly can add universities that are not on the academia list...
19a. This activity can be varied easily...
20a. I hardly can believe Christmas is here...

In these cases, then, we do not have an adverb or an Adverb Phrase embedded in a VP;
rather we have an adverb or an Adverb Phrase interrupting a VP. We can show the
analysis of an interrupted VP like this:

SM M H H PM A H H O M H
17. MCl [((Very few) people) (can (actually) understand) (pure Urdu)]
NP AjP Av Aj N VP a AvP Av V NP Aj N

Here the lines link the auxiliary verb and the headword in the VP that is being
interrupted by the AvP. The AvP is not labelled as a modifier in the VP. Compare the
embedded AjP (very few) inside the NP, which is labelled as a modifier in the NP.

The distinction between embedded phrases and phrases that interrupt other phrases casts
light on a basic principle of subordination at phrase level – the subordinate constituent
has to function as a modifier, or sometimes headword, in the main phrase. Otherwise,
like actually in the VP above, it continues to function as a full phrase in its own right.

6.4 Summary

This Chapter and the next deal mainly with subordination, or the way in which one
grammatical constituent can be embedded inside another, effectively shifting its
grammatical rank. A full phrase, therefore, can function in the same way as a single
word, namely, as a modifier or headword in a larger phrase. We can show embedding by
different means. The means preferred in this book is bracketing, although other grammar
books use tree diagrams. Both bracketing and tree diagrams show essentially similar
information in different ways.

6.5 Review and Practice Activities

Subordination, embedding or rank-shifting, can be initially quite a tricky concept, but

with some practice and thought it can quickly be grasped. The basic idea is that
grammatical constituents are not simply ordered in sequences, phrase after phrase or
clause after clause. A phrase or clause can be embedded inside another phrase or clause.

71
The consequence of this grammatical possibility is that some elements of a phrase will
themselves have their own phrase structure. And so a modifier within a NP, for
example, might itself have the structure of an AjP, a NP or a PP. The activities below
will help you to identify examples of subordination at phrase level.

Activity 1: Phrases inside phrases

Look at the analysis of the NP below:

M H M x M M H
(the girl (in the yellow bikini))
NP d N PP pr d Aj N

Note that the embedded PP functions as a modifier of the headword, girl. Therefore the
entire PP is part of the same NP as the girl. But the PP also has its own structure, and its
own headword, bikini. The structure of both the main phrase and the subordinate phrase
are shown.

From phrases 1-7 below, identify:

a) one ambiguous Noun Phrase

b) two Noun Phrases containing an embedded Adjective Phrase
c) two Noun Phrases containing an embedded Prepositional Phrase
d) one Adjective Phrase containing an embedded Prepositional Phrase
e) one Noun Phrase with an embedded Genitive Phrase

1. an extremely enjoyable reading

2. a house with a stone stair
3. a doctor’s line
4. a dog wi twa tails
5. quite lucky with our neighbours
6. a very good job
7. more affordable rented homes

Activity 2
Once you have identified the phrase structures in Activity 1, analyse the whole phrase.

Activity 3
Analyse the following phrases, extracted from the interview with Michael Stipe, earlier
in this section:

1. The lead singer of the US stadium rockers

2. the biggest band in the world
3. a pair of Woody Allen specs
4. A salt-and-pepper carpet of stubble
5. a quarter of a century
6. the figurehead of a global phenomenon
7. an astonishing piece of music
8. a period of prolific writing

72
Chapter 7 Combining Phrases Into Clauses

7.0 About this Chapter

7.1 Form and Function Revisited
7.2 SPOCA
7.2.1 Subject
7.2.2 Predicator
7.2.3 Object
7.2.4 Complement
7.2.5 Adverbial
7.3 Typical Clause Structures
7.4 Clauses and Sentences
7.5 Clause Function and Word Order
7.6 Subject and Object
7.6.1 Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
7.6.2 Direct and Indirect Objects
7.6.3 Object and Complement
7.6.4 Subject and Object Complements
7.7 Determining the Function of Prepositional Phrases
7.8 Activities

7.0 About this Chapter

In this book, we have slowly been working up the grammatical hierarchy that leads from
the morpheme, the smallest grammatical constituent, to the sentence, which is the
largest. We have looked at how morphemes combine to form words, and how words
combine to form phrases. Now we turn to the combination of phrases into clauses. The
analysis of clauses involves identifying how phrases function together, for example as
Subjects and Objects. We consider the elements of the clause and some of the issues that
arise in the analysis of clauses. To begin, we revisit two of the key concepts in linguistic
description, namely the consideration of the formal and functional properties of
grammatical constituents.

7.1 Form and Function Revisited

So far, we have mainly thought about form and function in terms of how they can be
used to classify words and phrases. As far as form is concerned, for example, we saw
earlier that some words have characteristic affixes, e.g. words ending in -ly tend to be
adverbs. This is a formal test of the word class, and although it is useful it is not
necessarily foolproof: nervously, hopefully, happily, and soulfully are all adverbs, but
portly is an adjective. A quick concordance search for weekly in the SCOTS corpus
shows us that it is used much more frequently as an adjective (in phrases like weekly
income) than as an adverb (in constructions like make decisions daily, weekly, monthly
and annually).

An example of a functional test of a word’s class is to ask what other words it can
combine with. Only nouns (or other words functioning as nouns) can be modified by a,
an, or the. Only verbs can be modified by auxiliaries like can, must, should, and so on.

Accordingly, we have in earlier sections attached different kinds of labels to words in

sentences. These are

Form labels: N, V, Aj, Av, d, a, pn, pr, c, i, n

Function labels: M, H

73
The form label denotes the part of speech of a word and is placed below it. The function
label denotes its role in the sentence and is placed above it.

M M M H Function labels
1. (a big black moustache)
NP d Aj Aj N Form labels

The functional description of an individual word can guide us in the formal

classification of a phrase; for example, a noun phrase can be formally described as a
phrase that has a noun functioning as its headword. Since determiners modify nouns in
noun phrases, it follows that we can categorise as a noun any term that follows a
determiner and functions as its headword , even if that word more commonly appears as
another part of speech, like the auxiliary verb must in:

M H
2. a Scottish Youth Parliament is (a must)
NP d N

In example (2), we can argue, the verb has been turned into a noun meaning something
like ‘a necessary thing’. We can use the headwords to assign form labels to most
phrases: NP, VP, AjP, AvP, etc. The exception, of course, is the PP, which begins with a
preposition, but the preposition, you will remember, functions as neither modifier nor
headword in the phrase. Rather, the preposition functions to turn a NP into a PP and
signals the relationship of the PP to the rest of the sentence. Like the form labels of
individual words, we place the form labels of phrases below the sentence.

Like individual words, phrases have functions as well as forms. That is to say, phrases
relate to other phrases in different ways. For example, the phrase many people functions
in two different ways in the following two sentences, from different Scottish
Parliamentary debates in the SCOTS corpus (sentence 3 is slightly adapted):

3. this reduction in service affects many people

4. many people purchase cigarettes over the internet

In Sentence (4) the plural NP many people has a relationship of concord, or agreement,
with the plural VP, purchase, while in Sentence (3) it doesn’t (when there is a
relationship of concord between two phrases, they must agree in number – that is, when
one phrase is singular or plural, the other must ‘agree’ and be singular or plural too). In
sentence (1) the concord is between the singular NP this reduction in service and the
singular VP affects.

The lack/presence of concord between the VPs and the NP many people in Sentences (3)
and (4) suggests that the NP many people has a different function in each sentence. This
Chapter will deal mainly with the different functions that phrases perform when they
combine to form what we call clauses in English.

7.2 SPOCA

Phrases have five possible functions in the clause: Subject (S), Predicator (P), Object
(O), Complement (C), Adverbial (A). A useful mnemonic for these is SPOCA, which
indicates the order in which these phrase functions normally occur in the clause. The
five functions are defined and exemplified briefly below, and then considered in detail
throughout the rest of this Chapter.

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 7.2.1 Subject

The Subject of a clause is defined as that phrase which has a relationship of concord, or
agreement, with the VP. Consider the clauses below:

5. This situation creates tension for many teachers.

6. Writers create meaning by the way in which they present their text visually.

Each clause begins with a NP, a singular one and a plural one respectively. The Verb
Phrase (creates/create) changes in order to agree with that NP in the clause, and it
agrees only with that NP. This relationship of agreement, or concord, identifies the
Subject.

Formally, Subjects are often NPs, they tend to precede the VP in a clause, and they
usually (but don’t always) express the person or thing responsible for the action of the
verb – but it is the functional relationship of concord that is the key to defining the
Subject.

Dummy Subjects in existential clauses

As noted above, Subjects usually precede VPs in the clause in English. However,
sometimes we want to shift the information that is in the Subject to the end of a clause.
In such cases, we use a dummy Subject to mark the usual place of the Subject, before the
NP, and the actual Subject, which is either a phrase or a full clause (see the discussion of
Noun Clauses later, in Chapter 8.5.2), is moved to the end of the clause. This shift
happens when we simply wish to indicate the existence of things, in clauses beginning
there is/are. For example, instead of saying –

S P A
7. MCl [ (Some bushes) (are) (in the garden)]
NP VP PP

– we can replace the Subject with the dummy Subject there, and say:

S x P H S M H Ax M H
7a. MCl [ (There) (are) (some bushes) (in the garden) ]
VP V NP d N PP pr d N

In clauses such as (7a), there is simply a grammatical marker, which is why it is not
given any form label, why its function is marked with an ‘x’. The function of the
grammatical marker here is to occupy the normal Subject position, while the real
Subject, some bushes, has been moved to a position after the Verb Phrase. The analysis
shows both Subjects, the dummy there and the full some bushes.

7.2.2 Predicator

The Predicator in a clause is always the Verb Phrase. The VP is the constituent around
which the clause ‘revolves’. Each full clause must have a Verb Phrase functioning as
Predicator, and a Predicator by itself can constitute a full clause, as we can see in this
exchange between a mother (F1113) and her young daughter (F1114) from the SCOTS
corpus. The daughter’s final command – Catch! – functions as a full clause by itself.

8. F1113: What are you goin to do then?

75
 F1114: Catch.
F1113: Catch.
F1114: [laugh] //[inhale]//
F1113: //Okay.//
F1114: Catch! [laugh]
P H
We could analyse the clause as follows: MCl [ (Catch!)]
VP V
7.2.3 Object

The Object of a clause is that constituent (usually a NP) which has the potential to be
the Subject...but isn’t. In other words, there is no relationship of concord, or agreement,
between an Object and the VP, but if you rewrote the clause, there could be. For
example, there is no relation of agreement between the plural VP create and the singular
VP meaning in the clause we looked at above:

6. Writers create meaning by the way in which they present their text visually.

We can, however, rephrase this clause as follows:

6a. Meaning is created by the way in which writers present their text visually.

In (6a) Meaning has become the Subject of the clause (it now agrees with the singular
verb, is created). Therefore, in (6.) meaning is the Object of the clause: it has no
agreement with the verb phrase, but it has the potential to become the Subject if the
clause is rephrased as it is in (6a.).

7.2.4 Complement

Not all verbs can be followed by Objects. In some sentences the VP is followed by a NP
or AjP which is not the Subject, and such phrases do not have the potential ever to
become Subject. These constituents are called Complements. They usually describe or
identify other NPs in the sentence. You can find examples in the SCOTS corpus by
looking up verbs that are usually followed by complements, namely, verbs of being like
be and become, and certain verbs of sensory perception like seems, looks, tastes, feels,
sounds, smells, e.g.

9. I’ll become your sports reporter.

10. Oh, that smells lovely!

Here the NP your sports reporter and the AjP lovely do not have the potential to become
Subject of the clause. You cannot rephrase these clauses as:

9a. *Your sports reporter will be become by me.

10a. *Lovely is smelled by that!

Therefore, the NP and AjP are not Objects but Complements. Since they describe the
Subject of the sentence, they are sometimes referred to as Subject Complements.

Complements can also appear in sentences that contain an Object, and they may
describe the Object rather than the Subject. In such cases they may be referred to as
Object Complements. However, Object Complements still cannot become the Subject of
a sentence. Only a small number of verbs can be followed by both Objects and Object
Complements. A SCOTS corpus search for call*, paint* results in a few examples:

76
11. I called him grandad.
12. I painted them white for Halloween.

In (11) the NP grandad is functioning as the Object Complement in the sentence – it

describes, or in this case names, the Object, him. In (12), the AjP white is an Object
Complement describing them (which in the context of the conversation, turn out to be
wellington boots).

The different grammatical roles of Object and Complement are particularly clear in
these examples. In each case, the Object of the clause can become the Subject, but the
Complement cannot, e.g.

11a. He was called grandad by me.

11b. *Grandad was called him by me.
12a. They were painted white by me for Halloween.
12b. *White was painted them by me for Halloween.

7.2.5 Adverbial

The final function which a phrase can perform is that of Adverbial. Remember to
distinguish Adverb (a type of word) and Adverb Phrase (one type of phrase) from
Adverbial (a clause function which is performed by different kinds of phrase).
Adverbials can be Adverb Phrases, Prepositional Phrases or even, in some cases, Noun
Phrases. They give extra information about the action or event in the clause – e.g.
where, when, why, how it happened. But the two main ways to recognise an Adverbial
are (i) that it is extremely mobile: you can often move this constituent into different
positions in the sentence; and (ii) it is often inessential: you can usually omit the
Adverbial and the sentence will still make sense. A fully-analysed clause, containing
several Adverbials, is shown below:

A x M H S M H PM M H
13. Cl [ (By this time) (some passengers) (had been helped)
PP pr d N NP d N VP a a V

A x M M H x x H
<(to the boat deck) and (into lifeboats.)>]
PP pr d N N c PP pr N

This sentence illustrates the fact that a clause may contain several Adverbials: here three
Prepositional Phrases, the last two of which are joined together into a single unit by the
conjunction and. All of the Adverbials are inessential – you could omit them all and still
have a brief but acceptable sentence, Some passengers had been helped. Many
Adverbials are mobile constituents, although moving Adverbials may well produce
subtle variations in meaning, as below, where there is perhaps less immediate emphasis
on the time in which this event happened:

13a. Some passengers, by this time, had been helped to the boat deck and into lifeboats.
13b. Some passengers had been helped to the boat deck and into lifeboats, by this time.

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7.3 Typical Clause Structures

Once we start combining phrases according to the rules given above, we have a clause.
A clause is essentially a grammatical combination of phrases, so when we are talking
about SPOCA analyses, we are really talking about clause structure.

Below are some examples of typical clause analyses, showing clauses with a variety of
SPOCA variations. Note that the basic SPOC sequence is quite rigid in contemporary
English; Adverbials, however, can pop up in several places in a clause:

Clause A S A P O C A
type
P Catch!
PO Catch it!
POA Catch the ball now!
SP She snores.
SPO He loves his dog.
SPC Defeat tastes bitter.
ASAPOA Happily they quickly found him again.
ASAPCA However rivals often become friends in time.

7.4 Clauses and sentences

In this book, we use square brackets [….] to identify clauses. As the above table shows
clearly, the key characteristic of a full clause is that it must contain a VP functioning as
Predicator. When we combine clauses, either by adding them together using
conjunctions or punctuation, or by embedding clauses inside one another, we produce
sentences, the highest-ranking grammatical constituent. Since each full sentence must
contain at least one clause, and each clause must contain a Predicator, then it follows
that sentences must contain one or more Predicators. Sentences that contain only one
Predicator – like all the examples given in the table above – are one-clause or simple
sentences. It follows from this that a grammatically complete sentence must also contain
at least one Predicator.

Most sentences, of course, contain more than one clause, like the one below, which is a
compound sentence containing two clauses. Compound sentences are linked by
coordinating conjunctions, like and, or, nor, but:

A H S H P H OM H x
14. MCl [ (Later,) (cycling) (broadened) (my horizons)] and
AvP Av NP N VP V NP d N c

P H OH Ax M M H H
MCl [ (took) (me) (to (further off) places.)]
VP V NP pn PP pr AjP Av Aj N

It is worth looking at this compound sentence in a some detail. The two Predicators have
been highlighted in bold. The Subject of the first clause cycling is carried over to the
second clause, which has no explicit Subject of its own. The first clause begins with an
Adverbial (realised by an Adverb Phrase), and the second clause ends with one (realised
by a Prepositional Phrase). Each clause has an Object, realised by a Noun Phrase. In the
second clause the headword of the Noun Phrase is realised by a pronoun. In the same

78
clause, the concluding Prepositional Phrase includes an embedded Adjective Phrase,
which modifies the final noun.

This sentence, then, which is not particularly complex, gives a sense of how
grammatical complexity works in English grammar. Words combine into phrases,
phrases into clauses, and clauses into sentences. At the same time, clauses and phrases
can be linked and embedded, one inside the other, to pack a considerable amount of
information into the unified grammatical structure that we call the sentence.

Before turning to a detailed consideration of subordination at clause level, that is what

happens when one clause is embedded inside another, let us conclude this section by
reviewing and refining some of our observations about the clause itself.

7.5 Clause function and word order

In English, grammatical function is closely related to word order. As noted above in

relation to the table of typical clause structures, the normal order of constituents in an
English clause is SPOC, with the A occupying various possible slots in the clause.
Every full clause contains a P and most clauses contain a S. (An exception, as we saw
above, is compound sentences where there is often omission of the Subject to avoid
repetition.

A S P O x P O A
17b. [Later, cycling broadened my horizons] and [cycling took me to further off places.]

Normally the S precedes the P as in the clauses above. The O generally comes after the
P, as does the C, but neither of these elements is obligatory in the clause. Adverbials
are likewise optional elements, and the possibility of varying their position makes them
fairly easy to identify.

The normal order can sometimes be violated for stylistic effect, as in the sentence
below, from a song sung in a Scots play, Bruised Blue by Cecilia Grainger. In the
character’s song, the position of C before S and P both emphasises the adjective sad,
and makes the lyric sound archaic and perhaps even proverbial in nature:

x x C H P H S M H Mx M M H
18. LORI. (Sings): [ Oh, oh (sad) (is) (the fortune (o aw wimmin kind.))]
i i AjP Aj VP V NP d N PP pr d N N

The Complement is drawn to our attention by placing it before the Subject, in a marked
grammatical position. When attention is drawn to a clause element by putting it to the
front in this way, the process is known as marked fronting. The ‘violation’ of normal
sentence order, then, can mark a grammatical constituent out as important in some way,
and it can control the sequence of information conveyed to the listener or reader.

7.6 Subject and Object

The S and O slots are generally filled by NPs. Most sentences have Subjects; Objects
are more optional. There is, as we shall see below, a strong relationship between the
presence or absence of an Object, and the kind of Predicator chosen.

S H P H
19. MCl [ (Dolly Emslie) (snorted.)]
NP N VP V

79
 S H P H OM H
20. MCl [ (Mrs Morrison) (rang) (the bell.)]
NP N VP V NP d N

7.6.1. Transitive and intransitive verbs

In the above examples, the verb to snort does not normally take O (although there are a
few instances when it might). The word is therefore normally classified as an
intransitive (intr) verb. The verb to ring, on the other hand, often has O, though not
always. Verbs that we expect to be followed by an Object are called transitive (tr)
verbs.

The word transitive comes from Latin. It contains three morphemes:

TRANS - IT - IVE
Prefix root suffix

The root is from the Latin word ire meaning ‘to go’. The prefix trans- means ‘across,
beyond’ and occurs in many English words, e.g. transport, transaction. The morpheme
<-ive> is a common adjective suffix. A transitive verb could thus be described as one
where the meaning ‘goes across’ from S to O via P. Intransitive contains an extra
morpheme, the negative prefix in-. An intransitive verb is therefore one where the
meaning doesn’t extend from S to O.

This etymology indicates the semantic role of S and O (i.e. what they typically mean). S
is typically the agent in the clause, i.e. it refers to the person, thing, etc. which performs
the action denoted by the P. O is typically the patient, i.e. the person, thing, etc. affected
by the action.

Many English verbs can occur in both transitive and intransitive patterns:

S M H P H
21. MCl [ (The door) (closed) ] intransitive use
NP d N VP V

SH A H PH OM H
22. MCl [ (I) (gently) (closed) (the door)] transitive use
NP pn AvP A VP V NP d N

Some verbs are reflexive verbs, where S and O refer to the same thing:

SH A H P H O H
23. MCl [(I) (thoroughly) (enjoyed) (myself)] reflexive verb
NP pn AvP Av VP V NP pn

Myself is a REFLEXIVE PRONOUN. Verb categories such as transitive, intransitive

and reflexive are often given in entries for verbs in dictionaries, e.g. in the entries for the
first sense of scart and the second and seventh senses of miss in the Dictionary of the
Scots Language (www.dsl.ac.uk):

80
 Scart, Skart, Skrat, v.
1. tr. To scratch, lacerate or mark (a person, his (one’s own) face, etc.) with the
nails, etc.

Miss, v.
2. intr. To fail to happen (ne. and em.Sc. (a), s.Sc., Uls. 1963). Obs. in Eng.
7. refl. in phr. to miss anesel, to miss something good or entertaining by one’s
absence. Gen.Sc.

7.6.2 Direct and Indirect Objects

As we have just seen, some clauses have no Object. Many have one; a few have two.
Whether there is one Object or two in the clause, the rule for identifying the Object holds
true – all Objects can become the Subject of the clause. As shown below, the verb tell
can be followed by a single Direct Object (he told a funny tale), or by an Indirect and
Direct Object (Jack told me the whole tale). The clause he told a funny tale can be
rephrased with the Direct Object as Subject: a funny tale was told to me. The second
clause could be rephrased with either the Direct Object or the Indirect Object as Subject:
The whole tale was told to me by Jack, or I was told the whole tale by Jack.

SH P H O M M H
24. MCl [ (he) (told) (a funny tale)] Direct Object
NP pn VP V NP d Aj N

S H P H Oi H Od M M H
25. MCl [ (Jack) (told) (me) (the whole tale)] Indirect +
NP pn VP V NP pn NP d Aj N Direct Objects

It is a rule of English word order that Oi precedes Od. In order to distinguish Od and Oi,
we can also apply a transformation test, by which we transform the clause into an
alternative but equally acceptable structure with the same meaning. Oi can be
transformed into a PP introduced by the prepositions to or for:

25a. Jack told the whole tale (to me)

The transformed Object can now be deleted (Jack told the whole tale) or moved (Jack
told to me the whole tale), and so, like other Prepositional Phrases, it functions as an
Adverbial.

7.6.3 Object and Complement

Com -ple- ment is another word of Latin etymology.

prefix - root - suffix

The root plere means ‘to fill’, the prefix com- means ‘with’ and -ment is a noun suffix.
A Complement is thus a thing that fills or completes something. In its non-grammatical
sense, the noun is used to mean something like ‘quota’, and it is found as such in various
expressions in the SCOTS corpus:

26. the parliament’s full complement of security staff

27. the current total staffing complement of the SQA

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In grammar, as noted above, the Complement (C) refers to a descriptive phrase (usually
an AjP or NP) that follows an intransitive verb, often be or become, or verbs expressing
sensory perception, and it gives us additional information, usually about S. If we analyse
examples (9) and (10) above in more detail, we get the following:

SH P M H C M M H
9. MCl [ (I) (‘ll become) (your sports reporter.)]
NP pn VP a V NP d N N

x S H P H C H
10. MCl [Oh (that) (smells) (lovely!)]
i NP N VP V AjP Aj

The Subjects and Predicators here would be semantically incomplete without their
Complements: *that smells...; *I’ll become.... The range of verbs that take Complements
is quite small. Most of them refer to physical or emotional states, e.g. feel, look, smell,
sound, taste, appear, remain, grow, as in the next examples:

S M H P H C H
28. MCl [ (the air) (grew) (chill)]
NP d N VP V AjP Aj

S M H P M H C M H
29. MCl [ (this number) (has remained) (relatively constant)]
NP d N VP a V AjP Av Aj

As we saw earlier, we can use a transformation test to distinguish O and C. Clauses with
O can be transformed from active into passive structures, while clauses with C cannot.
Compare the earlier examples with some reformulations:

SH P H O M M H
24. MCl [ (he) (told) (a funny tale)] Active voice
NP pn VP V NP d Aj N

SM M H P M H A x H
24a. MCl [(a funny tale) (was told) (by him)] Passive voice
NP d Aj N VP a V PP pr pn

SH P M H C M M H
9. MCl [ (I) (’ll become) (your sports reporter.)]
NP pn VP a V NP d N N

S M M H P M M H A x H
9a. *MCl [(your sports reporter) (will be become) (by me)]
NP d N N VP a a V PP pr pn

Verbs, like taste, that can be both transitive and intransitive can take either O or C.

SH P M H O M H
30. MCl [ (I) (’ve tasted) (better medicine)] Transitive+Object
NP pn VP a V NP Aj N

82
 S M H P H C H
31. MCl [ (the product) (tasted) (putrid)] Intransitive+Complement
NP d N VP V AjP Aj

7.6.4 Subject and Object Complements

As noted earlier, the Complement can describe or have a relationship of identity with
either the Subject or the Object of a clause.

S H P H Cs H
MCl [ (I) (’m) (Bob)] Subject Complement (Cs)
32. NP pn VP V NP N

S M H P H O H Co H
33. MCl [ (Other people) (call) (him) (Bob)] Object Complememt (Co)
NP d N VP V NP pn NP N

In the first example C (Bob) is equivalent to S (I) and so is labelled Cs. In the second
example, C (Bob, again) is now equivalent to O (him) and so is labelled Co. Where
there is an Object Complement, it always follows the Object in the clause.

7.7 Determining the function of Prepositional Phrases

As we observed earlier, different types of phrase – PPs, AvPs and NPs – can function as
Adverbials in a clause. As we have also seen, PPs can function as embedded modifiers
in other phrases, such as NPs. If you are unsure whether a PP is Adverbial at clause
level, or a modifier within another phrase, it is a good idea to test its mobility.
Adverbials, as we know, can move around a clause while modifiers must stay within
their phrases, as in the following example, which contains two Prepositional Phrases:

A M x M M H SH P M H OM H M x M M H
34. [ (high on a terraced hill) (I) (could see) (a house (with an arched lintel))]
PP Av pr d Aj N NP pn VP a V NP d N PP pr d Aj N

Compare:

34a. I could see, high on a terraced hill, a house with an arched lintel
34b. I could see a house with an arched lintel, high on a terraced hill

34c. *high on a terraced hill, I could see, with an arched lintel, a house
34d. *with an arched lintel, high on a terraced hill, I could see a house

Here, the PP high on a terraced hill is an Adverbial (in this case a Prepositional Phrase
premodified by the intensifying adverb high), and so it can be moved quite easily from
the beginning to the middle and the end of the sentence. However, the PP with an
arched lintel is less mobile – in natural English it really must follow ‘house’, the
headword of the phrase in which it acts as a modifier.

7.8 Activities
We saw earlier that words that relate to each other can be combined into phrases. The
next step in our grammatical analysis has been to combine related phrases into clauses
by showing how they function. We label the function of each phrase as Subject,
Predicator, Object, Complement or Adverbial (SPOCA).

83
Three steps suggested for phrase analysis, given at the end of Chapter 5, are copied
below:

Step 1 (Identifying parts of speech)

I could see the driver clearly through the windscreen mirror.

pn a V d N Av pr d N N

Step 2 (Identifying modifiers and headwords)

H M H M H H x M M H
(I) (could see) (the driver) (clearly) (through the windscreen mirror.)
pn a V d N Av pr d N N

Step 3 (Labelling phrases)

H M H M H H x M M H
(I) (could see) (the driver) (clearly) (through the windscreen mirror.)
NP pn VP a V NP d N AvP Av PP pr d N N

To these, we can now add a further step, showing the clause function of the different
phrases. Above and in front of each round-bracketed phrase, label its function as
S,P,O,C or A. It is often easiest to begin with the Predicator, then identify any related
Subject, Object, Complement or Adverbial(s). Put square brackets around each sequence
of phrases related to a single Predicator – that is your clause:

SH P M H O M H A H A x M M H
MCl [ (I) (could see) (the driver) (clearly) (through the windscreen mirror.)]
NP pn VP a V NP d N AvP Av PP pr d N N

Here we have a clause with the structure SPOAA.

Analysing simple sentences

By this point, you should be able to give full analyses of (a) simple sentences, in other
words, sentences that consist of a single clause, and (b) compound sentences, consisting
of sentences linked by coordinating conjunctions. Try analysing these examples, taken
from the children’s story Katie Morag and the Two Grandmothers by Mairi Hedderwick
(SCOTS Document 832):

1. One sunny Wednesday morning Mrs McColl woke Katie Morag early.
2. Here comes the boat.
3. Granma Mainland lived far away in the big city.
4. My, you’re still a smart wee Bobby Dazzler.
5. Grannie Island revved the engine very loudly.
6. Show Day was always a big event on the Island of Struay.
7. Alecina was Grannie Island’s prize sheep.
8. But all ended well.

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Chapter 8 From Clause To Complex Sentence

8.0 About this Chapter

8.1 The Complexity of Sentences
8.2 Main Clauses and Subordinate Clauses
8.3 Conjunctions Revisited
8.4 Comparing Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences
8.5 How to Recognise Subordinate Clauses
8.5.1 Adverbial Clauses [ACl]
8.5.2 Noun Clauses
8.5.3 Direct Subordination
8.5.4 Indirect Subordination
8.5.5 Relative Clauses
8.5.6 Relative Pronouns and Relative Adverbs
8.5.7 Sentential Relative Clauses
8.5.8 Comparative Clauses
8.5.9 Prepositional Clauses
8.6 Activities

8.0 About this Chapter

In this chapter reach the upper limit of grammar, the largest grammatical unit, namely
the complex sentence. As complex phrases are formed by embedding one or more
phrases inside another, so complex sentences are formed by embedding one or more
clauses (subordinate clauses) inside a main clause. This chapter compares sentence
types, shows you how to recognise subordinate clauses, and gives examples of different
types of subordinate clause. By the time you have finished this chapter, you should be
able to parse a wide variety of sentences

8.1 The Complexity of Sentences

As Chapter 7 showed, when different phrases relate to each other in a meaningful way
around a Predicator, then we have a clause in English. The heart of any clause is the
Predicator, which is always a VP. As we also observed in the previous chapter, most
obviously in the table in 7.3, other phrases cluster around the Predicator in different
ways. There is usually a phrase functioning as the Subject, which agrees with the
Predicator, and perhaps one or more Objects, Complements and/or Adverbials.
Whatever the combination of other constituents, it is usually the case that if you have a
Predicator, you have a clause.

Single clauses make up what are called simple sentences; namely, sentences with one
Predicator and usually one or more other phrases too. Our description of grammar could
stop there, at the simple sentence. However, most written and spoken English does not
consist only of simple sentences, as the two passages below, taken and adapted from an
article by Isabel Murray on the fiction of Jessie Kesson, illustrate:

(a) Adapted version [Predicators italicised]

[1] We can enjoy Jessie Kesson’s work. [2] We can admire it too. [3] We do not have to
notice a particular fact about it. [4] Its simplicity is very individual, very one-of-a-kind.
[5] But her books are not traditional stories, with beginnings, middles and ends, in that
order. [6] We can look just a little deeper. [7] Then we can see something. [8] Each is
individually created within a unique structure. [9] This best displays the character(s),
and their inmost feelings. [10] Kesson experimented with her first and best known
novel, ‘The White Bird Passes’ for over sixteen years or more. [11] During this time,
she discovered a personal means of expression. [12] Her writing appears simple and

85
effortless. [13] A crucially important factor in the construction of each of her novels is
Kesson’s treatment of time, in each case uniquely different, and appropriate to the work.

(b) Original version [Numbers added and Predicators italicised]

[14] It is possible to enjoy and admire Jessie Kesson’s work without particularly
noticing that its simplicity is very individual, very one-of-a-kind. [15] But her books
are not traditional stories, with beginnings, middles and ends, in that order: if we
look just a little deeper we can see that each is individually created within a unique
structure, to best display the character(s), and their inmost feelings. [16] Over the
sixteen or more years when she was engaged experimentally in producing her first
and best known novel, ‘The White Bird Passes’, Kesson discovered her own ways of
expressing herself, and made them appear simple and effortless. [17] A crucially
important factor in the construction of each of her novels is Kesson’s treatment of
time, in each case uniquely different, and appropriate to the work.

Over the centuries, English prose style has developed into a sophisticated medium for
communicating meaning. The two passages above communicate approximately the same
meaning, but do so in different ways. Passage (a) consists of thirteen simple sentences –
the Predicators are italicised, and you can see that each sentence only contains one of
them. Passage (b) communicates the same amount of meaning in only four sentences,
but these sentences are much more complicated in structure. If you count the italicised
Predicators in these sentences, you will find that there are two or more in each one. In
this Chapter we explore how clauses are linked together and embedded into complex
sentences such as these.

Passage (b) makes use of three essential features of English grammar:

Substitution
Instead of referring to nouns repeatedly by name, the writer has used pronouns, eg:

16b. Kesson discovered her own ways of expressing herself, and made them appear...

Ellipsis
Ellipsis occurs when an expected grammatical item has been omitted. As we saw in the
previous Chapter, in compound sentences when the Subject remains constant, it can be
omitted in the second clause:

16b.Kesson discovered her own ways of expressing herself, and [she] made them
appear...

Compound and complex sentences

Each of the four sentences in version (b) contains more than one Predicator (italicised in
the text) and therefore cannot be a simple sentence. Their internal structure includes
linking elements such as coordinating conjunctions (e.g. and) and another set of
conjunctions called subordinating conjunctions (e.g. if, when, that). Other complex
sentences use relative pronouns such as which, who and (again, but in a different role)
that. A great variety of sentence patterns like these is available in English, which makes
the language much more flexible. We considered compound sentences in the previous
Chapter; here, therefore, we shall turn to complex sentences.

8.2 Main Clauses and Subordinate Clauses

Basically there are two types of clause, main (or principal) clauses [MCl] and
subordinate clauses (or simply subclauses) [SCl].

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A main clause is an independent unit which can stand alone as a sentence {Se}. Every
sentence must have a main clause. Since simple sentences have only one clause, that
clause must by definition be a main clause.

S M H P H x C M H
15b. Se { MCl [ (Her books) (are not) (traditional stories.)]}
NP d N VP V n NP Aj N

In contrast, a subordinate clause cannot stand alone as a sentence. Subordinate clauses

or ‘subclauses’ are embedded within other grammatical categories, namely clauses and
phrases. A subordinate clause contains further information about some element in the
main clause and so is linked to the MCl in some way. One of the subclauses in sentence
(16) in the above passage is linked to the main clause by the conjunction when, which
indicates that the relationship between subclause and main clause is one of time:

16c. when she was engaged experimentally...

The convention for subclauses is that their brackets are placed within those of the main
clause so that their status is clearly indicated.

Se{ MCl[......SCl[........] ]}

Since subclauses can also be subordinated within other subclauses, bracketing can
become quite complicated. A golden rule is that brackets come in pairs; if you open a
pair of brackets, you must eventually close it. If you do an analysis and end up with five
left-facing brackets and only three right-facing ones, then there is something wrong.

8.3 Conjunctions Revisited

In order to get to grips with subordinate clauses in particular, it is useful first to review
some closed-class words, specifically conjunctions, those grammatical words whose job
it is mainly to indicate grammatical relationships within the phrase and clause. Closed-
class words were introduced in Chapter 3.

Conjunctions link words, phrases and clauses. There are two main types of conjunctions:

(a) co-ordinating conjunctions, e.g. and, or, nor, but. These are used to link those
grammatical units that are at the same level in the rank scale, i.e. they link words with
words, phrases with phrases, and clauses with clauses.

(b) subordinating conjunctions, e.g. after, although, as, because, before, if, how,
however, like, once, since, than, that, though, till, unless, until, when, where, while.
Some subordinating conjunctions are themselves complex; that is, they consist of more
than one word. However, we can treat them as single conjunctions. They include as far
as, as if, in case, in (order) that, rather than, so that, etc.

Subordinating conjunctions are the set of closed-class words which signal subordinate
clauses, and give information about their relationship to the main clause they inhabit. In
addition to the two main types of conjunction noted above, correlative conjunctions
attach to two separate elements. These can also be:

co-ordinating: both ... and, (n)either ... (n)or

subordinating: if ... then, although ... yet, etc.

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Notice, in the many examples below, that when we draw diagrams of sentence structure,
the conjunctions sometimes fall outside the round phrase brackets – this is because they
link phrases; they are not part of phrases. Since they are neither headwords nor
modifiers in a phrase, we put an x above them to indicate their linking function.

8.4 Comparing Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences

As we have seen, sentences are made up of combinations of clauses (i.e. combinations

of phrases functioning as SPOC and/or A). A simple sentence contains only one VP
functioning as Predicator. Compound and complex sentences contain more than one
Predicator.

In the rest of this Chapter, we shall explore the ways in which clauses can be linked
together to make more complicated sentences. These ways include processes of
subordination very similar to those we saw in phrases in Chapter 7.

For ease of comparison, the examples below show a simple sentence, a compound
sentence and a complex sentence. The clause functions of the main clauses (SPOCA) are
shown in bold.

Simple sentence (one main clause: SPO)

S H A M H P H OM M H
18. Se{MCl [ (Shetland) (this summer) (demonstrated) (a clear passion
NP N NP d N VP V NP d Aj N

Mx H
(for sport.))]}
PP pr N

Compound sentence (four main clauses: SPO, SPA, SPO and SPC)

S H x H P M H O H
19. Se{MCl [ <(Houses) and (cars)> (were flying) (flags,)]
NP N c NP N VP a V NP N

S H P H A H
MCl [(tracksuits) (were) (everywhere,)]
NP N VP V AvP Av

S H P M H x H
MCl (bairns) <(were collecting) and (swapping)>
NP N VP a V c VP V

O M H MM M H Mx M H
(pin badges (the unofficial currency (of the Games)))]
NP N N PP d Aj N PP pr d N

x S M H x H Mx M M H P H
and MCl [<(the atmosphere) and (buzz (at the sports venues)>) (was)
c NP d N c NP N PP pr c N N VP V

C M H
(truly uplifting.)]
AjP Av Aj

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Complex sentence

The first clause of the compound sentence below (20) contains an Adverbial that is an
embedded clause, beginning with the conjunction if. The presence of this embedded
Adverbial Clause (ACl) makes this also a complex sentence. Its structure is SPCA+SPC.
The structure of the embedded Adverbial Clause is SPO.

S H P M M H C M M H A x S H P H
20. MCl [ (It) (would have been) (a hollow victory) SCl [ if (we) (had)
NP pn VP a a V NP d Aj N ACl c NP pn VP V

OM H Mx H x S H x H Mx M H
(a clutch (of medals))]] but MCl [ <(some) or (all> (of the organisation))
NP d N PP pr N c NP pn c NP pn PP pr d N

P H CM H
(was) (a shambles.)]
VP V NP d N

The level of detail given in the above example might seem rather offputting at first, but
with practice you should be able to read this kind of analysis increasingly easily. If you
are having difficulty, train yourself to read this kind of analysis systematically – look
first at the classification of words (pn, a, V, Aj, etc.), then at the relationship of
modifiers to Headwords. Pay attention to embedded modifiers like the prepositional
phrases of medals and of the organisation. Remember that angled brackets < > indicate
words or phrases linked by a conjunction. And finally, look at the clause structure
(SPOCA), noting any embedded clauses functioning as Subject, Object, Complement or
Adverbial.

The next few subsections give some advice on recognising subclauses, and introduce
you to different types of subclause.

8.5 How to Recognise Subordinate Clauses

Most sentences contain a mixture of MCl and SCl, as in the example of the complex
sentence in the subsection above. Subclauses can be found at the beginning, middle or
end of a sentence. Remember that the main clause contains the subclause as an
embedded constituent that performs one of a small number of possible functions.

Subordinate clauses are generally named after the function they perform or the form
they have – some function like NPs, some like AvPs and others look rather like PPs.
Two types of subordinate clause have more specific functions – comparing and
modifying. Accordingly, there are five types of subordinate clauses (subclauses) in the
system of grammar we are using:

i. Adverbial Clause [ACl];

ii. Noun Clause [NCl];
iii. Relative Clause [RCl];
iv. Comparative Clause [CCl];
v. Prepositional Clause [PCl].

There are three ways of recognising a subclause:

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a) It is introduced by a subordinating conjunction (see further, Chapter 3 above)
e.g. If he comes, I’ll phone the polis. (‘if’ is the subordinating conjunction).
b) It is introduced by what is called a ‘wh- element’ (who, whom, whose, what,
which, etc.) e.g. Those whom I represent are aware of the concerns… (whom I
represent is the subclause).
c) It has a non-finite verb, that is, a verb whose form does not indicate either tense or
number. By themselves, verb-forms like hoping, sung, to write, and so on, fall
into this category. Non-finite verbs by themselves may function as Predicators
only in SCl’s, e.g. I saw her mother, walking along the road… (walking along
the road is the subclause).

Since they are embedded in a main clause or even inside a phrase, subclauses function
as SPOCA elements within the main clause, or they function as modifiers inside the
phrase. They also have internal SPOCA structures of their own. Thus, when you are
analysing a complex sentence, you must bracket and label all the phrases in the
sentence, e.g.

S P S P A
Se { MCl [ (...) (...) SCl [ (...) (...) (...) ] ] }

Putting information into a subclause often has the effect of downplaying that
information, i.e. making it seem less important than the information in the main clause.
There is a general correlation between the level of an element in the rank scale and its
importance in a sentence. Thus information conveyed inside a phrase is often of lesser
importance than that in either a main clause or a subclause.

Let us now consider the five types of subclause listed above in more detail.

8.5.1 Adverbial Clauses [ACl]

Some subclauses function in the same way as those phrases which function as
Adverbials. Consider the sentence below:

Ax M H Mx H A x SH P H Ax H SH PH
21. Se {MCl [(For a couple (of years)) SCl [when (he) (was) (at uni)] (he) (was)
PP pr d N PP pr N ACl c NP pn VP V PP pr N NP pn VP V

A x H
(at Napier]}
PP pr N

This sentence has at its core the Subject and Predicator he + was and three Adverbials:
for a couple of years, when he was at uni, at Napier. The first and third of these
Adverbials are phrases – Prepositional Phrases. The second Adverbial is an embedded
clause because it contains its own Subject and Predicator (he + was again) and also its
own Adverbial, realised by another Prepositional Phrase: at uni.

In general, the Adverbial Clause has some grammatical similarities to the Prepositional
Phrase. They share the grammatical property of mobility in the sentence. By moving the
Prepositional Phrase and the Adverbial Clause around, we can rewrite (21), for example,
as He was, for a couple of years, at Napier, when he was at uni. In addition, Adverbial
Clauses, Adverbial Phrases and Prepositional Phrases all convey similar types of
meaning, namely location in time and space, direction, manner, and so on.

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These meanings in fact help us to identify several common sub-types of Adverbial
Clause, ACls of reason, manner, condition, purpose, contrast and place. We can
classify them according to the subordinating conjunctions that introduce them and the
questions they answer. You can compare the meanings of Adverbial Clauses with those
of individual adverbs.

S H P H C M M H A x SH P H
22. Se { MCl [ (He) (is) (very, very strong) SCl [ because (he) (plays)
NP pn VP V AjP Av Av Aj ACl c NP pn VP V
O H
(rugby)…]]}
NP N

This is an ACl of reason, answering the question ‘Why?’ Such clauses can also be
introduced by the conjunctions as and since.

As noted above, ACls share with other Adverbials the property of mobility in a
sentence. For example, the ACl of manner which occurs at the end of example (23)
below can easily be switched to the beginning, as in (23a); so SPAA becomes ASPA.

S M H P H A x M M H A P H C H
23. Se { MCl [ (Fruit bats) (drip) (from the fig trees) SCl [ (looking) (furtive.)]]}
NP N N VP V PP pr d N N ACl VP V AjP Aj

A P H C H S M H PH A x M M H
23a. Se { MCl [ SCl [ (Looking) (furtive)] (fruit bats) (drip) (from the fig trees.)]}
ACl VP V AjP Aj NP N N VP V PP pr d N N

ACls of manner answer the question ‘How?’ In this case, the ACl is introduced by a
non-finite verb, looking. ACls can also be introduced by a range of conjunctions, such as
as, as if, so that and though. An example of a similar sentence using a complex
conjunction, as if answers the question: ‘How does the media behave?’

Ax H SM H P H A x SM M H
24. Se {MCl [ (In general) (the media) (behave) SCl [ as if (the Scots language)
PP pr N NP d N VP V ACl c NP d N N

P M x H
(does not exist.)]]
VP a n V

Other ACls include those of condition, which are introduced by if or unless:

A x S H PH C H S H P M H O H
25. Se { MCl [ SCl [ If (you) (are) (cold)] (tea) (will warm) (you.)]}
ACl c NP pn VP V AjP Aj NP N VP a V NP pn

S M H P M x H A x M H A x
26. Se { MCl [ (My parents) (needn’t know) (about the psychiatrist) SCl [unless
NP d N VP a n V PP pr d N ACl c
SH P H
(he) (insists.) ]}
NP pn VP V

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ACls of purpose, which answer the question ‘Why?’, are introduced by complex (multi-
word) conjunctions such as so that or in order that:

S H P M H A x S H P M H O H
27. Se { MCl [ (Men) (have died) SCl [so that (you) (can have) (jotters.) ]]}
NP N VP a V ACl c NP pn VP a V NP N

Examples of other Adverbial Clauses are those of contrast –

A x S M H P H C M H
28. Se { MCl [ SCl [ Although ( the languages ) (are) (closely related)]
ACl c NP d N VP V AjP Av Aj

S H PH x C H M x H
( Scots) (is not) (derived (from English.))]}
NP N VP V n AjP Aj PP pr N

– and place. Sentence (29) below includes an ACl of place, which answers the question
‘Where?’ Indeed, such clauses can be introduced by the conjunction where as well as
conjunctions such as wherever:

S H P H CM H A x S H P H
29. Se { MCl [ (Accessibility) (is) (an issue) SCl [wherever (people) (go.)]]}
NP N VP V NP d N ACl c NP N VP V

8.5.2 Noun Clauses

Like NPs, Noun Clauses function as S and O at clause level. They are commonly
introduced by the conjunction that, although this is often omitted, especially in speech.

SH P H O x S H P H CM H
30. Se {MCl [ (They) (knew) SCl [that (it) (was) (a problem...]]}
NP pn VP V NCl c NP pn VP V NP d N

S P O
Compare: MCl [ (They) (knew) (something)].

The Noun Clause that it was a problem in the first example above fulfils the same
function as the pronoun something in the Noun Phrase in the second example, i.e. they
are both Object. An identifying feature of NCls is that they can be replaced by a
pronoun.

NCls occasionally occur at S in formal language:

S
32. Se {MCl [SCl [That it comes from Gaelic and means ‘the mouth of the Messan,’] is not
NCl

in dispute…]}

The reason why this type of sentence in rare, particularly in colloquial language, is
because its Subject – That it comes from Gaelic and means ‘the mouth of the Messan’

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– is rather long and therefore hard to process. Our usual preference is to put long,
complex elements towards the end of the sentence where they seem to be easier to
comprehend. This is known as the principle of end weight.

Extraposition of Noun Clauses

Sometimes, in order to preserve the principle of end weight, we use a grammatical

manoeuvre to push the Subject Noun Clause to the end of the sentence, filling its usual
place in the sentence with a dummy Subject. We saw examples of the dummy Subject
there earlier (Chapter 7.2.1), in so-called existential clauses beginning with there is/are.
In the extraposition of Noun clauses, we mark the Subject slot with the pronoun it,
which here has no referent, and push the real Subject to the end of the sentence. So, a
sentence such as –

S
32. Se {MCl [ SCl [That she had been through some very bad things] was obvious.]}
NCl

– is more usually found in speech in the form that it appears in one of the SCOTS corpus
conversations (including the hesitant repetition of the determiner some):

Sx PH C H S x SH P M H A x M
32a. Se { MCl [ (It) (was) (obvious) SCl [ that (she) (had been) (through some
NP pn VP V AjP Aj NCl c NP pn VP a V PP pr d

MM M H H
some (very bad) things.]]}
d AjP Av Aj N

Here note that we have analysed the dummy Subject It as being neither a headword nor
a modifier, since it is simply a grammatical place-keeper for the proper subject of the
sentence, which is that she had been through some very bad things.

Noun Clauses are used frequently in what is called reported or indirect speech, e.g. after
a verb like say, observe, note, complain, suggest, etc. What is said, observed, noted,
complained about or suggested is the Object of the sentence, often realised by a NCl:

SH P H O x SH P H OM H Co H
33. Se { MCl [ (I) (said) SCl [ that (I) (preferred) (my breakfast) (fried.) ]]}
NP pn VP V NCl c NP pn VP V NP d N AjP Aj

8.5.3 Direct Subordination

The type of subclauses we have looked at so far – ACls and NCls – are examples of
direct subordination. That is to say, the subclause is embedded one level below in the
rank scale, which is a term sometimes given to the grammatical hierarchy that runs from
sentence, clause, phrase, word to morpheme. An embedded clause can function as a
constituent one rank below its normal place on the rank scale – so, for example, an
embedded Noun Clause can function as the Subject of the main clause, as we saw
above.

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8.5.4 Indirect Subordination

Sometimes, however, subordination involves embedding clauses at even lower levels on

the rank scale. This is known as indirect subordination or rank shift. Some subclauses
do not function as elements embedded inside other clauses, but as elements inside other
phrases. That is to say, they function as modifiers within phrases such as NPs:

M H M S H P M H Ax M H
34. (the houses [ (that) (should be) (in the system)])
NP d N RCl NP pn VP a V PP pr d N

Note that in the example above, the word that does not function as a conjunction but as a
kind of pronoun. More details will be given on this change in function as we turn to the
most common examples of indirect subordination, starting with further examples of this
kind of subclause, the Relative Clause.

8.5.5 Relative Clauses

The commonest place where indirect subordination occurs is in Relative Clauses (RCl).
As in example (34) above, Relative Clauses function as modifiers within phrases in
much the same way as PPs. Semantically, they fulfil the function of adding information
to NPs.

Thus, in example (35) below, the headword of the NP, advisor, is post-modified by a
Prepositional Phrase and a Relative Clause in turn:

M H M x H MS H PH OM H Mx M H
35. (an advisor (within Glasgow) [(who) (has) (a remit (for Gaelic education))])
NP d N PP pr N RCl NP pn VP V NP d N PP pr Aj N

8.5.6 Relative Pronouns and Relative Adverbs

Relative Clauses are quite easy to recognise. They are introduced by relative pronouns,
which function as elements in the subclause (S, O). These include: who, whom, whose,
which, that. In the examples in the two sections immediately above, the relative
pronouns, that and who, realise the Subject of the Relative Clause.

If a relative pronoun is the Subject of the Relative Clause, then, in British English at
least, it is usually included in the sentence. If the relative pronoun is the Object, it is
often omitted in colloquial language, in both Britain. Compare:

H M S H P H C M H
36. (heels [ (which) (seemed) (desperately uncomfortable)])
NP N RCl NP pn VP V AjP Av Aj

H M P H C M H
36a. *(heels [ (seemed) (desperately uncomfortable)])
NP N RCl VP V AjP Av Aj

H MO H S M M H PM H A x M H
37. (opportunities [ (which) (the public body) (will provide) (for its staff)])
NP N RCl NP pn NP d N N VP a V PP pr d N

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 H MS M M H PM H A x M H
37a. (opportunities [ (the public body) (will provide) (for its staff)])
NP N RCl NP d N N VP a V PP pr d N

Example (36) above cannot be rephrased as *heels seemed desperately uncomfortable,

because the relative pronoun is the Subject of the subclause and therefore obligatory.
Example (37) can be rephrased as a reduced Relative Clause, opportunities the public
body will provide for its staff, since the relative pronoun here is the Object of the
subclause, and so it is optional. In Relative Clauses like the second one, the relative
pronoun can be thought of as a variant of this or these which has been moved to the
front of the subclause:

the public body will provide these for its staff →

which the public body will provide for its staff

Relative clauses can also be introduced by relative adverbs, such as where, when, why,
how. Relative adverbs and relative pronouns together are sometimes described simply
as ‘wh-elements’.

M H M A H S H P M H
38. (the area [ (where) (rescuers) ( were converging )])
NP d N RCl AvP Av NP N VP a V

M HMA H S M H P H O M H
39. (the time [ (when) (young lovers) (plighted) (their troth)])
NP d N RCl AvP Av NP Aj N VP V NP d N

Examples (38) and (39) can be rephrased, with the Adverb phrases when and where
rewritten as Prepositional Phrases that include the relative pronoun:

M H M A x H S H P M H
38a. (the area [ (in which) (rescuers) ( were converging )])
NP d N RCl PP pr pn NP N VP a V

M HM H S M H P H O M H Ax
39a. (the time [ (that) (young lovers) (plighted) (their troth) (in)])
NP d N RCl …pn NP Aj N VP V NP d N PP pr…

In (39a), there is a ‘stranded’ preposition: it should technically precede ‘that’, but of

course we would not say *the time in that young lovers plighted their troth – we would
have to change the relative pronoun, that, to which.

Note that relative adverbs should not be confused with the conjunctions introducing
Adverbial and other subclauses. A particular problem arises with that, a word with a
great many grammatical functions. In NPs, that is a determiner (that book) and in AjPs
in speech it is sometimes an adverb intensifying an adjective (that shy). In NCls that is a
conjunction (She knows that you can’t) and as a conjunction it falls outside any phrase.
In RCls that is a pronoun, it is the headword of a NP, and so it has a clause function as S
or O. In RCls – but not in NCls –who(m) or which are interchangeable with that.

M M M O H S H P H
40. (the members [ (whom) ( I ) (represent)])
NP d N RCl NP pn NP pn VP V

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 M M M O H S H P H
40b. (the members [ (that) ( I ) (represent)])
NP d N RCl NP pn NP pn VP V

S H P M x H O x S H P H C H
41. MCl [(we) (would not say) SCl [that (it) (was) (wrong)]]
NP pn VP a n V NCl c NP pn VP V AjP Aj

S H P M x H O x S H P H C H
41b. *MCl [(we) (would not say) SCl [who (it) (was) (wrong)]]
NP pn VP a n V NCl c NP pn VP V AjP Aj

A distinction is often made between restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses,

which are sometimes called defining and non-defining relative clauses. Non-restrictive
or non-defining relative clauses give extra, additional information about the headword,
which could be deleted from the noun phrase in which the RCl occurs without any
danger that the headword would not be identifiable. Restrictive or defining relative
clauses specify or limit the reference of the headword that they modify. Examples from
the SCOTS corpus are:

42. it was written by Dudley D. Watkins, [who was an Englishman.]

43. I’ve got some friends [who are Buddhists.]

In (42) the non-restrictive RCl who was an Englishman adds information about the
headword Dudley D. Watkins, but it is not necessary to identify him. By contrast, the
restrictive RCl in (43), who are Buddhists is necessary to identify which members of the
set expressed by the headword, friends, we are talking about. Often the punctuation
provides a clue to the type of RCl that is being used: there is normally a comma between
a headword and a non-restrictive RCl, while no comma separates a headword and a
restrictive RCl. This punctuation convention is followed in examples (42) and (43) but it
is not entirely reliable.

8.5.7 Sentential Relative Clauses

Relative clauses sometimes act as a comment on a clause or sentence, in much the same
way as attitude adverbs. In such cases they function as Adverbials, because they do not
post-modify a single noun; instead they comment on the proposition as a whole.

SH A H P M H A S H PH CM H
44. Se { MCl [ (it) (probably) (will die) SCl[ (which) (is) (a shame)]}
NP pn AvP Av VP a V RCl NP pn VP V NP d N

In the above example, which is a shame comments on the preceding clause it probably
will die, as a whole, and does not refer specifically to any single word in that clause.

8.5.8 Comparative Clauses

Another place where indirect subordination occurs is in Comparative Clauses (CCl).

These are quite easy to recognise because – as their name suggests – they always
express some sort of comparison, but they come in a variety of different forms and are
often subject to ellipsis (the omission of unnecessary words). They are usually preceded
by comparative adjectives (like older) or adjectives modified by certain adverbs (like
more likely, more directly affected). The CCl functions as a modifier in an Adjective
Phrase:

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 A H SH P H C H M x S H P H
45. MCl [ (obviously) (I) (‘m) (older SCl [ than (you) (are)])]
AvP Av NP pn VP V AjP Aj CCl c NP pn VP V

Compare the above example with the version of it given below:

SH P H C H M x H
45a. Se {MCl [ (I) (‘m) (older ( than you ))]}
NP pn VP V AjP Aj PP pr pn

In (45a.), the VP in the subclause has been omitted, which prompts us to interpret than
as a preposition rather than a conjunction. The sequence than you therefore becomes a
PP, post-modifying taller in a complex AjP. An alternative would be to analyse than you
as a Comparative Clause with a missing Predicator, but some people are unhappy about
analysing ‘invisible’ elements, so the former option is preferred here.

8.5.9 Prepositional Clauses

The fifth type of clause is the Prepositional Clause (PCl). These are easy to recognise
because they always begin with a preposition. In this respect, they are similar in form to
prepositional phrases. However, they differ from PPs in that, like all clauses, they
contain a Predicator. Like PPs, PCls function as either A or M. Examples include:

S H P M H
46. MCl [ (Graves) (became intrigued)
NP N VP a V

A x O H S H P H Co M M H
SCl [ by (something) (he) (called) (the Black Goddess.)]]
PCl pr NP pn NP pn VP V NP d Aj N

SM H PH C M H
47. MCl [ ( the list) (is) ( a restatement
NP d N VP V NP d N

M x S H P H A H Ax H
SCl [ of (what) (is) (already ) (in legislation)])]
PCl pr NP pn VP V AvP Av PP pr N

Notice that example (46) exhibits direct subordination while (47) exhibits indirect
subordination. That is, in (46), the PCl is embedded as an Adverbial in another clause,
whilst in (47) the PCl is embedded inside a NP as a modifier. PCls are essentially Noun
Clauses expanded by the addition of a preposition (in much the same way as PPs are
expansions of NPs by the addition of a preposition). Note that after the preposition the
very first element of the NCl can be either the Object or the Subject – in the first
example above it is the Object (Graves called something the Black Goddess) while in
the second example it is the Subject (something is already in legislation).

This completes our brief survey of basic clause types, and gives some idea of the variety
of patterns that are available in English.

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8.6 Activity

By this point in the book, you should be able to identify and analyse complex sentences,
that is, a sentence which has at least one subordinate clause. Which of sentences 1-5
below, all taken from the SCOTS corpus, is an example of each of the following:

a) a complex sentence containing an embedded Prepositional Clause as an Adverbial

Clause
b) a complex sentence containing an embedded Adverbial Clause introduced by a
conjunction
c) a complex sentence containing an embedded Comparative Clause
d) a complex sentence containing an embedded Noun Clause
e) a complex sentence containing a Noun which is post-modified by a Relative Clause.

1. What you have is an advance copy.

2. Upstairs were loft bedrooms, which had skylight windows.
3. Are you happier in Morningside than you were at the Grassmarket?
4. We will all take a keen interest in what is happening.
5. The bill has moved in that direction, although there is potential for further
reform

Now try analysing the sentences fully. They are quite tricky in places!

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Chapter 9 Verb Systems

9.0 About this Chapter

9.1 Linguistic Systems
9.2 Pronoun Systems
9.3 The Formal Constituents of the Verb Phrase
9.3.1 Primary Auxiliaries
9.4 Verb Systems
9.5 Tense
9.6 Aspect
9.6.1 Simple Aspect
9.6.2 Progressive Aspect
9.6.3 Perfect Aspect
9.7 Voice
9.8 Finiteness
9.9 Modality
9.9.1 Degrees of certainty
9.9.2 Permission, advice and obligation
9.9.3 Variation in modal use
9.10 Mood
9.11 The Auxiliary ‘Do’
9.12 Activities

9.0 About this Chapter

This chapter takes a detailed look at the verb phrase (VP). The VP is particularly
important, because at the level of clause, it functions as Predicator, and, as we have
seen, the Predicator is the essential core of any major clause in English and Scots.

The VP conveys a rich complex of meanings through a variety of forms. The verb to
dance, for example, occurs in many forms in the expressions she dances, she danced,
she is dancing, she has danced, she might have been dancing, she was dancing, she had
been dancing, not to mention his toes had been danced upon. This unit explores ways of
understanding how these different forms express different meanings. The key concept in
this exploration is that of a system.

9.1 Linguistic Systems

Linguistic systems are simply sets of choices – for example, the choice between saying
she dances and she danced. Here there is a choice of forms, that is, a choice between
using the inflexion <-s> and the inflexion <-ed>. Making the choice changes the
meaning of the verb in some way – here we might argue that the choice between present
and past tense changes the time of action indicated. As we shall soon see, the
relationship between tense choice and time indicated is not a simple one. There are
different kinds of choices made each time we use a verb phrase in English. The range of
choices is described here as a set of simultaneous systems – in other words, for every
verb phrase used, different sets of choices must be made.

The concept of a system is important in the study of language generally, not just in
grammar. As noted above, a system occurs where there is a choice of forms, i.e. where
we have to choose one possibility from amongst a range of possibilities. An example of
a system is the paradigm (the technical name for a table of examples) for the present
tense verb given below. When we select from this paradigm in English, we have to
match up our choice of pronoun with the run/run-s forms of the verb.

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 I run We run
You run You run
He, she, it runs They run

The verb system is therefore associated with pronoun systems, which themselves
contain a lot of grammatical information.

9.2 Pronoun Systems

Pronouns in English are marked for three systems, or sets of choices, namely number,
gender and person:

Type of System Available Choices

Number (singular, plural)
Gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
Person (first, second, third).

Some pronouns are also marked for case, that is they change their form depending on
whether they are expressing the Subject or Object of the clause, or whether they are
expressing possession. For example:

• he/they (nominative case – expressing the Subject)

• him/them (accusative case – expressing the Object)
• his/their (genitive case – expressing possession).

Other languages, and earlier forms of English, have or had further case choices, for
example the dative case of nouns in Old English indicates that they are being used in
Prepositional Phrases. Old English was the language spoken in parts of England and
southern Scotland until around the middle of the 12th century.

Using these four systems (person, number, gender and case), we can write a detailed
description of each pronoun, e.g. ‘He’ is the third person, singular, nominative form for
the masculine gender. ‘They’ is the third person, plural, nominative form for all
genders.

Now, if we choose the pronoun ‘he’, or the third person singular feminine or neuter
nominative pronouns ‘she’ or ‘it’ as the Subject of a sentence, we must choose an
appropriate verb form, like run-s. The systems of the verb and pronoun are thus
interrelated. As we saw earlier, another way of putting this is that there must be concord
or agreement between the Predicator, or VP, and its Subject, in this case the pronoun, as
example (1) shows. (1a) and (1c) are acceptable standard English; (1b) is acceptable
only in varieties that do not keep the concord ‘rule’.

SH P H O H
1a. MCl [ (He) (likes) (them.)]
NP pn VP V NP pn

S H P H O H
1b. * MCl [ (They) (likes) (him.)]
NP pn VP V NP pn

O H SH P H
1c. MCl [ (Them) (he) (likes.)]
NP pn NP pn VP V

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Although it is an acceptable sentence, the word order in example (1c) above is unusual,
because of the fronting of the Object. The sentence begins with two NPs (Them he) but
it remains unambiguous because the Predicator likes requires a singular Subject, and in
this case the only option available is he. There is, in other words, no doubt about which
NP is the Subject and which the Object because of the case of the two pronouns. In (1c)
he is in the nominative case, and them in the accusative case, the cases associated with
Subject and Object respectively.

In Old English, all full NPs were explicitly marked for case, which allowed word order
to be more flexible than it is in Present-Day English. Hough and Corbett (2006) is an
introduction to Old English, written for those with no previous experience of language
study. It is recommended if you want to explore the earliest variety of the language
further, and get a taste of the surviving literature. Some Scots forms, such as hame and
yon, are closer than Present-Day English forms to their common ancestral roots.

In Present-Day English, words have mostly lost the case endings which gave speakers of
Old English clues to their grammatical function, so we rely more on word order to
signal grammatical functions – and so the meanings of phrases. For us today, Subjects
normally occur before the VP, while Objects and Complements occur after the VP. The
inflexibility of word-order in Present-Day English accounts for the apparently deviant
sentence constructions in English, in which there and it function as ‘dummy Subjects’ –
as we saw earlier in Chapter 7.2.1 – effectively marking the place of the Subject, while
the important information in the sentence is shunted elsewhere:

2. There’s a fancy dress shop near there.

3. It’s a shame that they stopped giving kids milk

Languages other than English, many of which still have case endings, rely less on word-
order, and have no need of ‘dummy Subjects’. For example, Brazilian Portuguese does
not use them in sentences such as the following:

4. É pena que ele não venha. (Literally, *Is pity that he would not come.)
5. Há banheiro privativo? (Literally, *Have [= is there] private bathroom?)

9.3 The Formal Constituents of the Verb Phrase

We have already seen that the VP, in its role as Predicator, is an essential element of the
clause. When making a grammatical analysis, the first step is normally to identify the
Predicator(s). The VP that realises the Predicator is analysed in terms of main verb (V)
and any auxiliary verbs (a). Auxiliary verbs are subdivided into primary auxiliaries (be,
have, do) and modal auxiliaries (e.g. can, must, should; see further, 9.9 below).

9.3.1 Primary Auxiliaries

The forms of the verb have been developing throughout the history of English, and they
continue to develop, as is particularly evident in non-standard speech. Modern English
verbs can be quite complex and contain a lot of information. This is achieved through
the use of inflexional suffixes and a range of auxiliary verbs. Consider the amount of
information packed into the verb phrases in the following sentence, taken from the
SCOTS corpus:

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6. Perhaps that would not have dealt entirely with Jamie Stone’s perennial
cheese problem, but it might have helped when we were implementing
European legislation.

In this example, the auxiliaries would, might, have and were are used in the formation of
the complex VPs. These auxiliaries help position the actions realised by the main verbs
in terms of actuality, possibility, time and duration. We shall shortly look in more detail
at how these auxiliaries work. In the meantime, two points are worth repeating:

(a) Every major clause must contain a main verb. If there is only one verb in a clause,
then that verb must be a main verb.

(b) All three primary auxiliaries can act BOTH as auxiliary verbs and as main verbs.

Compare the form and function of be, have and do in the following clauses, all again
from the SCOTS corpus:

S M H P M H
7. MCl [ (my mum) (was working)]
NP d N VP a V

S M H PM H
8. MCl [ (her accent) (has changed)]
NP d N VP a V

S M H P H C H
9. MCl [ (His mother) (was) (Polish)]
NP d N VP V AjP Aj

S H P H OM M H A x H
10. MCl [ (Fiona) (has) (a bad side) (to her)]
NP N VP V NP d Aj N PP pr pn

SM H P H O M M H Ax H
11. MCl [ (my wife) (did) (her masters degree) (at Edinburgh)]
NP d N VP V NP d N N PP pr N

SH PMH A x M M H A x M M H
12. MCl [ (I) (did go) (to the Sunday School) (for a wee while)]
NP pn VP a V PP pr d N N PP pr d Aj N

In (7) was is part of the VP, modifying the main verb, while in (9) was is the only verb
in the clause, and therefore must be the main verb, the headword. The verb to be here is
fulfilling one of its commonest functions, that of linking the Subject to a Complement.
Likewise, has is an auxiliary in (8) and a main verb expressing the idea of possession in
(10). Some varieties of English avoid the use of has as a main verb expressing
possession – this use is found in Scotland and in North America, but in England the
main verb would usually be got, with has or ‘s as the auxiliary: Fiona’s got a bad side to
her. As (11) and (12) illustrate, do can also function as either the main verb or as an
auxiliary. On the auxiliary use of do, see further 9.11 below.

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9.4 Verb Systems

A further function of the VPs in a sequence of clauses is to show the relationship

between the different events described. Consider again the three linked clauses in
sentence (6) above, which is reproduced below for convenience:

6. Se { MCl [Perhaps that would not have dealt entirely with Jamie Stone’s
perennial cheese problem,] but MCl [ it might have helped SCl [when we
were implementing European legislation.]]}

The modal auxiliary verb would in the first VP expresses a hypothetical situation – we
know that the measures that are being discussed to solve the ‘perennial cheese problem’
did not in fact happen. The second VP expresses the degree of confidence the speaker
has in the success of the hypothetical measures – he thinks that it is possible that they
would have helped, but he is not sure. The third VP is related in time to the second – if
the measures had been taken, and if they had helped, they would have helped for the
duration of the implementation of the European legislation. The VPs, then, express
concepts such as factuality, possibility, time and duration. In order to describe such
phenomena more accurately, we need to look at the systems of the verb in more detail.
Remember, ‘systems’ are simply sets of meaningful choices, indicated by changes in the
form of the verb. There are six systems of the verb in English: tense, aspect, voice,
finiteness, modality and mood. Choices from all of these systems must be made for
every verb used in speech or writing.

9.5 Tense

In formal terms, tense is a two-part system, involving a choice between present (I walk, I
run) and past (I walk-ed, I ran). The Scots system is the same, except that the past-tense
marker for regular verbs in Scots is often –t,or –it, e.g. wantit. In English and Scots,
concepts like futurity and possibility are expressed through the use of auxiliaries (see 9.9
below).

As the labels, present tense and past tense, suggest, tense is mainly, but not exclusively,
used to relate the events we are talking about to time. In common with speakers of many
other languages, we tend to envisage time as a continuous line, with the speaker
occupying the point ‘now’.

before after
NOW

past present future

In many common verbs, the past tense and past participle are irregular; that is, they
change form by altering the middle vowel rather than by adding -ed: he ran, he has run
rather than he walked, he has walked. There are about 200 such verbs in Modern
English, but there used to be many more. The number varies in Scots, since some
irregular verbs in English (such as told) have become regular verbs in Scots (e.g. telt).This
shows the force of analogy in language: irregular verbs tend to become regular and
newer verbs tend to have regular forms, by analogy with the majority.

For example, light is a common irregular verb, with the past tense and past participle lit,
as is evident from the following example from the SCOTS corpus:

13. The outside was lit by gaslamp.

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However, newer verbal compounds with light, such as highlight, tend to have regular
past tenses and past participles, e.g.

14. We have highlighted three or four concerns.

Perhaps influenced by the compound use, the SCOTS corpus does have stray incidences
of light as a regular verb, typically in speech:

15. she had this earring that, like, lighted up?

As suggested in the heading of this section, tense choices usually indicate the time of an
action or event – but not always. Admittedly, the choice between present tense in She
dances today, and past tense in She danced yesterday might be described as expressing
present and past time. However, the situation is more complicated than it appears. What
about She dances every day at nine o’clock? The tense chosen here is present tense – but
the Adverbial makes it clear that the time reference is past, present and future.
In other words, the choice of the tense here is governed more by the question Is this a
fact? rather than At what time does/did this occur? ‘Factual’ uses of the present tense
include general statements like The sun is the centre of our universe, or Water boils at
100 degrees, or The train leaves tomorrow morning at nine. In the final example, the
time reference is in fact the future, not the present, but the speaker’s choice of the
present tense indicates that s/he considers the action to be a fact, something s/he is very
certain about.
Similarly, ‘past’ tense can sometimes be used to indicate ‘distance from fact’ – that
something is a possibility or a desire, as when a speaker says Were you interested in
coming on Saturday? as a polite invitation. The use of past tense ‘were’ here rather than
present tense ‘are’ distances the possibility that the listener is interested, and so makes
the question more polite.
Politeness itself can be regarded as the negotiation of ‘social distance’. Using present
tense forms of auxiliary verbs reduces ‘social distance’ between speakers, while using
past tense forms can increase ‘social distance’. What do you think the relationship of the
speaker and listener is in the following requests from the SCOTS corpus: Please can
you repair this? and Could you move on, please? Neither utterance, of course, refers to
actions in the past.
For the reasons discussed above, making a simple correlation between tense and time
should be resisted. After all, there is more to the concept of time than the matter of past,
present and future. What we call the ‘past tense’ of a verb can as easily indicate the
relationship between speakers (‘social distance’) and whether something is a fact or
speculation (‘distance from fact’), as well as past versus present (or ‘distance in time’).
As well as these types of ‘distance’, the duration of an event or action, and how recently
it occurred, might also be important enough to indicate grammatically. This is not done
through the system of tense, but through the system of aspect.

9.6 Aspect

Aspect is formally a three-part system comprising of

• simple aspect
• progressive (or continuous) aspect
• perfect (or perfective) aspect

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The system of tense combines with the system of aspect to produce complex forms, e.g.
present or past simple, present or past progressive, present or past perfect. The choice of
one or a combination of these aspects subtlely changes the listener or reader’s point-of-
view of the events described. It does this in a variety of ways.

9.6.1 Simple Aspect

There are no auxiliaries in simple aspects. The infinitive, or base form of the verb, is
used with the appropriate inflexions, -s or -ed, unless the verb is irregular, like to go:

He walk-s He goes (present simple aspect)

He walk-ed He went (past simple aspect)

The simple forms of the verb tend to express the action as a single, complete whole.
They do not in themselves give information about the duration of the action, or even
necessarily the time of its occurrence. Present simple is used to express facts and actions
which occur habitually or regularly (e.g. I go to the shops on Thursdays), while past
simple is used to express actions in the past which have been completed (e.g. I went to
the shops last night). However, it is possible to use the present simple to express future
events, (e.g. The train leaves at midnight tonight).

Simple forms tend also to be used with mental or emotional processes in standard
English: I think that, you know that, she feels that… etc. However, many Scottish
speakers use progressive forms for at least some of these verbs, and this grammatical
identity-marker can indicate that some speakers are Scottish, as in the following
example from the SCOTS corpus:

16. So now I’m thinking that I’ll need to save up a bit

There is also a clear tendency among younger speakers of English in the USA and
Britain to use the progressive form rather than the simple form with the verb love. In
2003, Macdonald’s launched I’m lovin’ it as its first global advertising slogan. The
informal, colloquial form and the use of the progressive aspect in the English version
clearly target a youth audience. It is interesting to translate into English other language
versions of the slogan – the first to be launched was the German ich liebe es (‘I love
it’).

9.6.2 Progressive Aspect

The progressive aspect (often called the continuous aspect, and occasionally the durative
aspect) is constructed with

• the auxiliary verb to be (e.g. is/was/has been) and

• the present participle (e.g. walking, flying).

Note that the tense of progressive aspect is indicated by the form of the auxiliary verb,
to be:

17. He is going (present progressive or continuous aspect)

18. He was going (past progressive or continuous aspect)

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Progressive aspect indicates the speaker’s perception of the relative duration of an
event. Thus in sentence (19) below, the act of considering is perceived as being of
longer duration than the act of upsetting the apple cart:

19. However, while they were considering setting up an intergovernmental

conference to bring about the single market, a political event upset the
apple cart—the collapse of the Soviet Union.

When combined with the present tense, progressive aspect tends to express the notion of
an action taking place at this very moment. The perception of duration is still involved –
we assume that the action started before the present moment, and will continue for some
time. Present progressive is therefore a much more likely indicator of ‘now’ than the
present simple. Compare the two questions:

20. Do you play squash? (present tense, simple aspect)

21. Are you playing squash now? (present tense, progressive aspect)

As noted in the section above, present simple indicates a general fact, while present
progressive indicates an action occurring at this moment. When the present progressive
is used with an adverb like ‘always’, it tends to express irritation or disapproval.
Compare the following two sentences from one of the SCOTS corpus texts:

22. She is always crying. (present tense, progressive aspect)

23. When I cry it is for a reason. (present tense, simple aspect)

9.6.3 Perfect Aspect

The final type of aspect, perfect or perfective, is formed with

• the auxiliary verb have

• followed by the past participle of the verb (e.g. has wandered, have searched,
will have arrived).

The meaning of the perfect aspect is quite subtle: it is used to indicate

• events which recently occurred, relative to a point of time in the present or past,
and
• events which occurred in the past, but at a time which is not specified.

The perfect aspect combines with both tense and aspect to produce complex forms and
shadings of meaning.

Present perfective aspect often describes an event which was completed in the recent
past. For this meaning, it is usually combined with adverbs such as ‘just’ or ‘recently’.
Thus we might say:

24. The first edition has just sold out.

In (24) the action is presented as happening very recently – whether it was a few seconds
ago, or five minutes, or fifteen. The actual time lapse from the point of utterance is less
important than conveying the perception that the action happened recently. For this
reason, the present perfect aspect is often used in news broadcasts, particularly at the
start, to give the impression that the events described are literally ‘news’ – that they

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have just occurred. Consider these two sentences from the early part of a BBC website
report (www.bbc.co.uk, accessed 30th July, 2007):

25. US President George W Bush and UK PM Gordon Brown have held their first
formal talks, renewing pledges to fight terrorism and seek progress in Iraq.

26. The pair met at Camp David, near Washington, amid widespread interest about
whether they could work together.

Here, in (25) the present perfect is used to indicate events and actions when the actual
time of their occurrence is not specified beyond the fact that it probably happened quite
recently. In (26) changing the aspect from perfect to simple changes the perspective on the
event: it is now anchored to a particular time – even though, in this instance, the time is
not actually mentioned. Nevertheless, the perspective on the events has changed.

The aspect system is slightly different in British and American English. Whereas in
British English, it is unacceptable, say, to use the past simple to make statements and
ask questions about events which happened in the non-specific past, it is perfectly
acceptable to do so in American English. Thus we have:

American English British English

27. Did you go yet? 29. Have you gone yet?
28. I already did that. 30. I’ve already done that.

When perfect aspect is combined with the progressive aspect as well as with tense, the
notion of duration further complicates the meanings described above. For example, in
(30) below, we know (i) that the action took place in the past, (ii) that it started before
some given point in the past, and (iii) it lasted for some time.

30. Sandy had been playing outside (past perfect progressive).

Tense and aspect together, then, express key features of the speaker or writer’s stance
towards the events or actions being described. By selecting from the systems of tense
and aspect, the speaker can give nuanced information about the proximity or distance in
time of the occurrence, whether it is a general fact or an event of limited duration, and
so on. The choices of tense and aspect are simultaneous, and so in some grammar books
the concepts are merged, and the authors write, for example, of the ‘present simple
tense’ or ‘the present perfect tense’. However, by considering these two verb systems
separately, we can see more clearly how each makes its contribution to the meaning of
any verbal expression.

9.7 Voice

Voice is a two-part system, involving a choice between active and passive. Only
transitive verbs (those which can be followed by an Object) occur in the passive. Note
that you cannot transform (31) into the passive (i.e. you cannot say *fairly well was slept
by us):

S H P H AM H
31.. MCl [ (We) (slept) (fairly well.)] slept = intransitive verb
NP pn VP V AvP Av Av

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 A H S H P H O H Ax M H Active voice:
32. MCl [(Afterwards) (people) (gave) (alms) (to the poor.)] give = transitive vb
AvP Av NP N VP V NP N PP pr d N

A H S H P M H Ax M H Passive voice:
32a. MCl [ (Afterwards) (alms) (were given) (to the poor.)] give = transitive vb
AvP Av NP N VP a V PP pr d N

In what is sometimes called the passive transformation, the Object of an active sentence
such as (32), here alms, becomes the Subject of the passive sentence (32a). The Subject
of the active sentence (32), here people, is either omitted in the passive transformation,
as in (32a), or it could be transformed into a prepositional phrase (by people).

There is seldom, if ever, an equal choice in a language between two members of a

system that appear to communicate the same information. The active and passive voice
seem to be communicating identical information, but in fact the choice between active
and passive voice can be important in stylistic terms. Consider the different effects of
the following:

33. It has been drawn to our attention that foodstuffs are being consumed in the
lecture room.
33a. Somebody told me that people are eating during lectures.

(33) uses the passive voice in the two italicised parts, and sounds more formal than
(33a). (33) might occur on an official notice, while (33a) is more likely in spoken use.
The choice between active and passive can therefore be used to distinguish between
formal and informal contexts of language use.

Furthermore, in the following imaginary newspaper headlines, a different emphasis is

placed on elements of the clauses by the choice between active and passive:

34. TROOPS KILL TWO DEMONSTRATORS

34a. TWO DEMONSTRATORS ARE KILLED BY TROOPS
34b. TWO DEMONSTRATORS ARE KILLED

In the passive sentences, (34a) and (34b), the writer also has a choice of whether to
include or omit the agent. The choices made here can be ideologically significant. In
(9a) the headline is about the troops, and what they have done. (34a) focuses more on
the demonstrators, and what has happened to them. The agency of the troops is
maintained, and is presented as new information, at the end of the sentence. (34b) is
again about the demonstrators and what has happened to them, but the agency of the
troops is omitted.

Newspaper editors who wish to slant the information in different ways might opt for
different choices here. An editor who wished to focus on the troops and on their
responsibility for the killing might choose (34). An editor who wished to focus on the
demonstrators, but who also wished to draw attention to the troops’ involvement, might
opt for (34a). Another editor, who wished to focus on the demonstrators, but also to
downplay the troops’ involvement, might prefer (34b). All three sentences give very
similar information, but the option of choosing between active and passive can shade
meanings in subtle ways. In particular, the responsibility for the actions presented can be
negotiated by choosing either active or passive from the system of voice.

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9.8 Finiteness and timeless events

Finiteness is formally another two-part system. Verbs are either finite or non-finite. A
finite verb can take a Subject and shows number and tense.

35. he (plays) the fiddle The V is finite; 3rd person singular

VP present tense
36. Robby (is playing) the penny whistle The VP is finite. The
VP auxiliary is marks the tense.

Within the VP in (36), the finite constituent is actually the auxiliary (is), which shows
concord with the Subject (singular), and indicates the tense (present). If number and/or
tense were to change, the auxiliary would change accordingly, but the participle would
remain the same (are/was playing). In a complex verb, the first part is always the finite
part. The other parts are non-finite:

35a. *He (playing) Participles by themselves are

VP non-finite.
35b. *He (to play) The infinitive (to play)
VP is non-finite

Modal auxiliaries (see further, section 9.9 below) are followed by the infinitive (usually
minus the particle, to). Thus in ‘I can swim’ and ‘He should leave’, swim and leave are
infinitives. (Compare ‘I am able to swim’ and ‘he ought to leave’, where the infinitive is
marked by ‘to’.)

In prescriptive grammars, the general rule is that full and proper sentences should
contain at least one finite VP. However, particularly in literary texts, sentences that have
non-finite participles – or no verb at all – are frequently used to express states and
processes. These grammatical choices give a timeless, ‘stream of consciousness’ effect
to the prose, as is shown by the following excerpt from Meaghan Delahunt’s novel In
the Blue House (Bloomsbury, 2001, p. 13):

36. And how I looked. Colour, sound and form. All my senses engaged. Entering
Veracruz – the stun of those first sights – a wall of heat and drizzle; the heavy
scents of coffee and vanilla. And as I stepped from sea to land, at the same point
where Cortes arrived centuries before me, there was the illusion of stepping
from something fluid to something more solid. The earthiness of colour and heat
and scent. Beguiled, as the Spanish had been.

The non-finite past participles (engaged, beguiled) express states, while entering
communicates a sense of process. None of these non-finite verbs is anchored to a finite
auxiliary and so each happens ‘out of time’, giving a sense of immediacy to the passage.
In addition, the many isolated NPs – colour, sound and form, the stun of those first
sights, a wall of heat and drizzle, etc. – express a sequence of discrete sense
impressions. The manipulation of finiteness, then, allows us the option of anchoring our
discourse in specific time, or of letting it float free and timeless.

Like tense and aspect, voice and finiteness describe choices that are made
simultaneously every time we utter or write a verb phrase. Whereas tense and aspect
mainly indicate time and duration, the system of finiteness asks a broader question about
whether or not an event or state can be anchored in time at all. Additionally, the system
of voice allows the speaker or writer to express agency explicitly, or leave the
responsibility for the action or event unsaid.

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9.9 Modality

One of the most interesting and varied systems of the verb is modality. Like voice and
tense, modality is a two-part system, consisting of modalised and non-modalised verbs.
Non-modalised verbs are employed in statements and questions of fact, such as:

37a. She answered the phone. 37c. Did she answer the phone?
37b. She didn’t answer it. 37d. Didn’t she answer it?

Non-modalised verb phrases can be either positive or negative, but statements

containing non-modalised verbs tend to share a sense of certainty – the speaker states
that someone did or didn’t do something. Modalised verb phrases do not share this sense
of certainty. Modal auxiliary verbs are used to express the speaker’s opinion about the
events described in the sentence. In other words, the speaker expresses how certain he or
she is that the events actually happened. In some cases, the speaker uses modality to
express a sense of obligation that the events should or must occur. Occasionally, a
modal auxiliary form will be used to express desirability, e.g. May you both be very
happy. (In the past, a separate system, mood, expressed these kinds of meaning through
one of three options, the subjunctive, but modality is gradually replacing the subjunctive
mood in English – see further below, section 9.10.)

There are nine core modal auxiliaries: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will,
would. Some grammarians also include forms like ought to, dare, and need among the
modals.

9.9.1 Degrees of certainty

The only events we can be certain about are the events that are happening around us (the
present) and events that we know have already taken place (the past). In English, we use
the modal auxiliary will/shall to refer to events in the future, i.e. when we are making a
prediction about an event. (We can also refer to the future by using a present tense, often
reinforced by an adverb, or going to, which expresses an intention.) We use auxiliaries
like can, could to express an opinion about the lesser likelihood of something
happening. Some examples are given below (modal auxiliaries are shown in italics).

38. The minister is telling the Parliament an untruth. (Non-modalised: fact)

39. I’m going to tell my mammy about you. (Non-modalised: intention)
40. I’ll tell you what happened. (Modalised: offer or prediction)
41. you can tell me this story. (Modalised: strong possibility)
42. maybe you could tell me a bit about that. (Modalised: weak possibility)

In addition, certainty can be expressed as a strong deduction, using the modal auxiliary
verb must, as in:

43. ‘Oh, you must be frozen!’ says Mummy. (Modalised: deduction)

9.9.2 Permission, advice and obligation

Other modals are used to express social opinions, often with the implication that the
speaker has some right to advise or command the listener, as in

44. Ms Sturgeon, you may continue. (Modalised: permission)

45. You ought to clean your seat after your tea. (Modalised: social obligation)

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46. You should be at school (Modalised: weak obligation)
47. You must never play with my lighter again (Modalised: strong obligation)

Those grammarians who are keen on technical terms derived from Greek sometimes
refer to the modals which express possibility as epistemic, while modals which express
obligation are deontic. The basic point about modalised sentences, however, is that a
range of meanings about possibility, obligation and desirability can be expressed by
opting to use modal auxiliaries.

9.9.3 Variation in modal use

The distribution of modal auxiliaries in speech and writing is another area where
Scottish and English speech habits diverge. According to the research literature, Scottish
speakers are supposed to avoid obligation modals like must, and ought to, preferring have
to. They also avoid using may/might to express permission, preferring can. There is some
support for this from the written and spoken SCOTS documents, though there are issues
about how representative the SCOTS texts are – even at 4 million words the corpus is
quite small. However, the frequency of modal uses in the SCOTS data at the time of
writing is roughly as follows:

Modal auxiliary verb Total Number in SCOTS Number in Spoken Docs

only
must 2217 313
ought to 60 5
have to 1474 579
may 2996 79
might 2008 350
can 8246 2895
could 4069 950

These figures are approximate for the simple reason that searches for may will include the
name of the month – and any women called May – and searches for can will include the
container as well as the auxiliary verb. Might will also include its uses as a noun, as in
might is never right. However, the results are still suggestive. Scottish speakers use the full
range of modals listed above, but have to occurs more frequently in speech than ought to
does in speech and writing combined, and have to occurs much more frequently than must.
The most frequent modals seem to be can and could, and while may occurs frequently in
writing, it is much less frequent in speech. Despite their approximate nature, the SCOTS
corpus findings suggest that the research literature is generally correct. However, much
more detailed research remains to be done on modal auxiliary usage in different varieties
of English and Scots.

In some parts of Scotland, you can also still hear double modal usage – a feature that is
taboo in standard English. For example, future possibility in Scottish English is
sometimes expressed through will+can. There is evidence for this usage in the SCOTS
corpus, at least in the written texts, mostly literary, where there are around 19 examples,
e.g.

48. we’ll can win throu Isolde’s Luve-Daith

49. wha’ll can guide them The Nine Sangs

In standard English usage, modals can be combined with the systems of tense and aspect
to produce subtle and complex meanings: e.g.:
50. They will have had to try to continue funding it

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Sentence (50) is a modalised perfective. The modal auxiliary will expresses the
speaker’s certainty, here, rather than futurity, and the perfect have indicates the recent or
unspecified past. The modal auxiliary had to expresses past obligation. As a whole, the
clause indicates that the speaker is sure that the people concerned were constrained to
try to continue funding something, at some unspecified point in the past.

If you analyse the complex verb forms in standard English you will observe that their
component parts generally occur in a fixed order:

Modal Auxiliary + Perfect Auxiliary + Progressive Auxiliary + Passive + Main Verb.

This fixed sequence is evident in complex verb phrases, such as are found in (51) and
(52):
51. we could have been goin up to Shetland (active)
52. no action could have been taken by the Scottish ministers (passive)

9.10 Mood

The modal auxiliaries also contribute to the realisation of mood, which is a three-part
system that is gradually becoming a two-part system. The two surviving moods are
indicative and imperative; the subjunctive mood in English is gradually disappearing.

Indicative Mood
The indicative is the mood of sentences in the past or present, ie. those stating facts, e.g.

53. Independent studies show that reducing tobacco consumption in countries

like Scotland actually increases employment overall and benefits the
economy as a whole.

Imperative Mood
The imperative is the mood of commands, e.g. ‘Go!’ Note that Predicators in the
imperative mood generally have no Subject.

Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive mood has virtually died out in contemporary English. This mood used
to express desirability or hypothetical speculations, and was realised by the presence or
absence of verb inflexions. Nowadays, these meanings are usually realised through the
system of modality – and the use of modal auxiliaries – rather than by verb inflexions.
However, a few subjunctive forms remain as fossils in the language, as in ‘God bless
our native land!’ where the absence of the –(e)s inflexion in the third person singular
present indicates an old subjunctive form, here expressing desirability. Such forms were
quite common in Shakespeare’s time, but have since been gradually replaced by modals,
e.g. ‘Long may she live!’ rather than ‘Long live the Queen!’. However, subjunctives are
still sometimes used in conditional clauses introduced by conjunctions such as if. The
variability of the mood system is shown in the following examples, (54)-(57):

54. I’d keep out of their clutches if I were you.

55. If only I were far away frae here.
56. If only I was (were?) Holden Caulfield!
57. she’d do the same for me, if I was in her shoes
These examples show the gradual shift in subjunctive usage. Were in such contexts may
look like a third person plural form, but it is, in fact, a subjunctive, here expressing

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advice and desirability (or, indeed, wishful thinking!). Subjunctives are used in
situations where facts are not being expressed – instead, desires, hypotheses, or wishes
are being articulated. (54) and (55) show the subjunctive form; (56) shows that the
writer is undecided about which form to use; and (57) shows the indicative form, with
the hypothetical nature of the clause simply signalled by the subordinating conjunction,
if.
The case of the disappearing subjunctive tells us something interesting about
grammatical change. The meanings signalled by the subjunctive forms of the verb do
not disappear, and so other grammatical resources must be deployed to signal things like
desirability, speculation, wishes, etc. We now signal these meanings mainly through the
system of modality – i.e. through modal auxiliary verbs – as well as through
conjunctions like if and indeed through vocabulary items such as wish, intend, etc.

9.11 The Auxiliary ‘Do’

A curiosity of the form of the VP in English is the use of do. Do is sometimes referred to
as a ‘dummy’ element since its main function is the purely grammatical one of marking
the VP in interrogative and negative clauses. Such marking is necessary only where the
VP is in the simple aspect. In the other aspects, progressive and perfective, the auxiliary
verbs (is, has, etc.) do the job of marking questions and negatives. Compare:

Progressive
58. He is sleeping.
59. He is not sleeping.
60. Is he sleeping?

Perfective
61. He had arrived.
62. He had not arrived.
63. Had he arrived?

Simple
64. He smiled.
65. He didn’t smile. (* He smiled not.)
66. Did he smile? (* Smiled he?)

In examples (65) and (66), did fills the slot filled by the auxiliary is in (59) and (60) and
and has in (62) and (63). The asterisked forms alongside (65) and (66) were perfectly
acceptable at earlier stages of the language; you will find many examples of such
structures in Shakespeare’s writing. However, these usages declined in popularity in the
modern age.

Dummy do is also used in short answers, as in (67) and (68), as well as in tag questions,
such as (69) and (70), which invite the listener’s agreement:

67. Did he go? Yes, he did.

68. Who cares? I do/His mother does.

69. It was raining hard, wasn’t it?

70. He went, didn’t he?

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As the SCOTS corpus shows, Scottish and English speech patterns are distinguished by
a different order of elements in tag questions. Whereas English tag questions generally
are ordered auxiliary + negative + pronoun, Scottish tag questions often have the form
auxiliary + pronoun + negative, as in the following example:

71. Individuals lobby, do they not?

Finally, do also has an emphatic function, marked by underlining or highlighting in

some forms written English:

72. Reading does take up a lot of time.

9.12 Activities

Activity 1
It should be obvious by now that the VP in English is a complex phenomenon which
needs a range of terms for its description. Say as much as you can about the numbered
and highlighted VP’s in the passage.

Example: FELL, main verb, third person singular, past simple indicative, intransitive

Abandoning his bicycle, which fell before a servant (1) could catch it, the young
man (2) sprang up onto the veranda. He (3) was all animation.
‘Hamidullah, Hamidullah! Am I late?’ he cried.
(4)’Do not apologize,’ said his host. ‘You (5) are always late.’
‘Kindly answer my question. Am I late? (6) Has Mahmoud Ali eaten all the food?
If so I (7) go elsewhere. Mr Mahmoud Ali, how are you?’
‘Thank you, Dr Aziz, I (8) am dying.’
‘Dying before your dinner? Oh, poor Mahmoud Ali!’
‘Hamidullah here is actually dead. He passed away just as you (9) rode up on your
bike.’ (lines omitted)
‘Aziz, don’t chatter. We (10) are having a very sad talk.’

E.M. Forster, A Passage to India, chapter 2.

Activity 2
Make a complete form and function analysis of the sentences below. All contain
different types of VP structure.

a. Jane was talking about her Wishaw childhood.

b. A tall tree twinkled its Christmas message over the statues.
c. However, this has made me a sceptic.
d. A concomitant impact on that will be a switch to imported tobacco.
e. They must have been delivered.

Activity 3
The following sentences might be spoken or written by a learner of English as a Foreign
Language. Imagine that you are an EFL teacher. Judge whether or not the sentences are
acceptable English. If they are not, how would you explain to the learner where the error

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lies? (You can assume that the learner has a competent knowledge of grammatical
concepts!)

1. I have met Graham on Saturday.

2. Did you see her already?
3. He’s watching television every morning.
4. My neighbour always play the stereo very loudly.
5. He smoked a cigarette when I was coming in.

Activity 4
Your imaginary learner of English now brings you a list of sentences, and asks you to
explain the difference in meaning between them. How do you do that? Are any of the
sentences unacceptable English? Do any of the sentences have more than one possible
meaning?
1. The train leaves on Saturday at noon.
2. The train is leaving on Saturday at noon.

3. The train will leave on Saturday at noon.

4. The train is going to leave on Saturday at noon.

5. The train must leave on Saturday at noon.

6. The train must be leaving on Saturday at noon.

7. The train can leave on Saturday at noon.

8. The train could leave on Saturday at noon.

9. The train left on Saturday at noon.

10. The train has left on Saturday at noon.

Activity 5 No future?
It is sometimes said that English is a language which has got no future tense – the form
of the verb does not change to express futurity, as happens in other languages. How
many ways can you think of to describe future states and actions in English?

Activity 6
Give a brief description, with at least TWO examples, of the verb systems of English
listed below:
aspect finiteness mood modality voice
For example:

Question: Describe the tense system in English:

Model Answer:

The tense system in English is a two-part system involving a choice between present and
past. Changes in tense are normally indicated by the inflexion ‘-ed’ or a change in the
vowel of the root verb, e.g. ‘swim/swam’.

Examples of the present tense are ‘I walk’ and ‘I run’, and examples of the past tense are
‘I walked’ and ‘I ran’.

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Chapter 10 Grammar And Close Reading

10.0 About this Chapter

10.1 What is ‘Close Reading’?
10.2 Paying Attention to Vocabulary
10.3 Paying Attention to Grammar
10.3.1 At the Level of Words
10.3.2 At Clause Level
10.4 Paying Attention to Discourse
10.5 Conclusion

10.0 About this Chapter

Through changes in curricula and passing educational fashions, ‘close reading’ has
remained a durable component of English teaching and assessment. This chapter focuses
on the role of grammatical analysis in close reading, with a particular focus on how
grammatical knowledge is assessed in the close reading section of the current Scottish
Qualification Authority’s ‘Higher’ English examination. The chapter is intended to give
guidance specifically to teachers and senior pupils who are teaching and learning
English for the SQA ‘Higher’. Other readers may find it useful to reflect on how the
knowledge and skills outlined in earlier chapters can be formally assessed in English
courses at secondary school or college level, and in the early years of undergraduate
study.

Information about the current place of close reading in university and school curricular
can be found at the following websites:

• www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/statements/English07.asp
• www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/languages/literacyandenglish/ind
ex.asp

References below to the university Subject Benchmark statements and the school
Curriculum for Excellence guidelines are taken from documents to be found on these
websites.

10.1 What is ‘Close Reading’?

‘Close reading’ is used to cover a set of highly developed reading skills that can be
broken down in a number of ways. For example, close reading may involve readers
paying attention to and being able to articulate interpretations based on the following
textual features:

• vocabulary patterns, or the use of evocative words and phrases

• ‘figures of speech’, such as metaphor or simile
• grammatical patterns that may indicate a writer’s particular stance, or characterise
his or her individual style.

Close reading, then, involves readers in two types of activity: description and
interpretation. Close readers require the technical apparatus to identify and describe
patterns of vocabulary and grammar. They must also gain experience in using these

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patterns as a basis for making plausible claims about why the text is written as it is. It is
therefore not surprising that close reading is mentioned in curricular guidance that
informs course design in Scottish universities and schools.

At university level, the first of the ‘key subject-specific skills’ in the Subject Benchmark
statements for the discipline of English (p.4) is:

• critical skills in the close reading and analysis of texts.

At school level, the Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy and English: Principles and
Practice document (p.3), also associates close reading with ‘critical literacy’:

Children and young people not only need to be able to read for information: they
also need to be able to work out what trust they should place on the information
and to identify when and how people are aiming to persuade or influence them.

Although the actual expression ‘close reading’ is absent from the Principles and
Practice guidelines, it appears in the Experiences and Outcomes document (p.10). This
document grades different reading levels, with respect to the pupils’ developing skills
in:

investigating and/or appreciating fiction and non-fiction texts with increasingly

complex ideas, structures and specialist vocabulary for different purposes.

These skills are expressed as ‘can do’s’, the fourth and most complex level of which
suggests the following:

To show my understanding, I can give detailed, evaluative comments, with

evidence, on the content and form of short and extended texts, and respond to
different kinds of questions and other types of close reading tasks.

The Curriculum for Excellence envisions grammatical knowledge, then, as a ‘tool’, first
for fluent reading and then for the close reading of increasingly complex, increasingly
unfamiliar texts.

The ‘Close Reading’ section of past SQA ‘Higher’ examinations has generally presented
two related journalistic feature articles or, occasionally, extracts from non-fictional
prose so that candidates can compare two different approaches to a similar theme. The
comparison of texts can be a powerful learning strategy, since it may point up decisions
made by individual writers about:

• the selection of content, and

• the ways that the content is presented to readers.

Very often the texts used in past SQA examinations are not Scottish in provenance –
sources have included The Times, Time magazine, The Economist, The Guardian and
The Observer – but sometimes they are. Of the Scottish texts, The Herald has been a
frequent source of opinion, editorial or feature articles. Whatever their geographical
origin, most of the sources are from the ‘quality’ or ‘broadsheet’ press, although tabloids
are occasionally used or adapted. At the time of writing, the SQA ‘Higher’ Arrangement

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Documents give little specific guidance on what linguistic features might be assessed in
the examination, but they do give some general guidance on the kind of texts preferred:

A quality newspaper is likely to yield suitable material for summative purposes.

At this level the internal structure of the article should be noticeably complex. It
is likely that the sentence length will be varied for effect and emphasis. It is also
likely that journalistic writing suitable for summative purposes will be
characterised by a stylistic richness. There may indeed be an intentional
discrepancy between a chosen style and the ostensible purpose of the writing: the
writer may choose, for instance, to insert colloquialisms into a formal context to
highlight the point being made. Overall scrutiny of the text may well reveal a
sustained but subtle attempt to manipulate the reader’s response through irony,
humour and other devices.
(http://www.sqa.org.uk/files/nq/English_Higher.pdf, accessed 15/04/08)

It is clear from this excerpt that any description of linguistic structure should,
understandably, support an interpretation of the writer’s persuasive purpose in the
article. However, it also follows that in order to interpret a linguistic structure, one must
first be able to describe it. The following sections consider what kind of language
descriptions have been expected in previous examinations.

10.2 Paying attention to vocabulary

Close reading, of course, is not just about grammar – issues such as selection of
vocabulary and use of punctuation are also relevant. Sophisticated close readers will
consider the sources of the texts used in the examinations since, obviously, the original
articles addressed different communities of readers, audiences that vary according to
nation, class, and even (depending on the publication and the article) professional status
and gender. The textual differences between articles directed at these different audiences
might be very slight, almost indiscernible at a glance. Yet close reading pays attention to
such decisions as the ones to use the word humankind and the phrase hip boots in the
extract below, from a Time magazine article on the changes required to avoid climatic
catastrophes such as global warming (from the SQA ‘Higher’ specimen paper, 2003):

Only an optimist, though, and an uninformed optimist at that, could believe that
humankind will succeed in making such radical changes in time to avert the bad
weather ahead. So the best advice is to get out the umbrellas and hip boots and
head for high ground.

There are various vocabulary items that could be used to convey the sense of
humankind, for example, mankind, or even people. The word mankind is, of course,
arguably marked as masculine, and as such has become an expression avoided by
writers with a particular stance on gender inclusion and exclusion. People, on the other
hand, is a more everyday term that does not necessarily communicate the idea that our
entire species might have a special responsibility for environmental protection. So a
close reader of this text might argue that the term humankind conveys a sense of
‘species-hood’ that includes both males and females.

The phrase hip boots is another matter. The expression is fairly transparent in meaning;
it clearly refers to waterproof boots that reach to the hips. And yet the presence of the
phrase in this text is perhaps an indication of its American origins: the phrase hip boots
occurs 37 times in the 360 million plus Corpus of Contemporary American English, and

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not once in the 100 million words of the British National Corpus (these figures can be
compared online at http://www.americancorpus.org/ and http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/).

Although corpus statistics must always be approached with caution, it is clear from the
American figures that the majority of usages are from magazines and newspapers, which
also figure prominently in the BNC. One might also argue that behind the expression
head for the high ground lies the more familiar idiom head for the hills, which again
seems slightly more American than British, with only 8 appearances in the BNC against
46 in a corpus that is only three to four times larger. In conjunction, then, hip boots and
head for the higher ground both suggest that the primarily American readership for this
article impacts upon the choice of vocabulary.

10.3 Paying attention to grammar

More pertinent to this book, however, is grammatical patterning. What grammatical
issues are close readers expected to be aware of? In past SQA ‘Higher’ examinations,
questions on grammar tend to manage to be both specific, about the part of the texts to
analyse, and vague, about what candidates are required to do with them. This book has
shown that there are many aspects of grammar that could be commented on; the
difficulty for teacher and candidate is distilling from all this information those pieces of
knowledge that are relevant to any examination question. The comments in the
following section are based on a sample taken from the ‘Close Reading’ section of SQA
‘Higher’ papers and specimen papers from 2003-6 (plus the recommended answers).
While the ‘Higher’ is under review, it seems unlikely from the Curriculum for
Excellence documents that any radical shift in the treatment of grammar and reading is
planned, and so the comments are likely to be of value for the foreseeable future.

It is unsatisfactory, and indeed unfair, to try to reconstruct an approach to teaching

grammar and close reading from the published answers to past examination questions.
Anyone who attempts such a reconstruction would no doubt quickly characterise the
approach as unsystematic, vague and often contradictory. A survey of the questions
asked in 2003-6 suggests that issues of punctuation are too readily conflated with
grammar; the expression ‘tone’ is so extended and abused as to become meaningless;
and grammatical features are plucked out of the text in a random fashion while
interesting rhetorical characteristics in the texts languish unnoticed. In general, close
reading questions spotlight grammar at the levels of word, clause and discourse. Phrase
level is curiously neglected, though much could be said about it. Often the guidance
given in published answers suggests that a grammatical structure ‘emphasises’ content,
although it might be argued that it simply expresses it. A consequence of such vague
guidance is that pupils may use ‘emphasis’ as an all-purpose answer to questions about
the impact of a grammatical usage – and it would be difficult to gainsay them. Such
reservations notwithstanding, on the basis of the sample of past papers, the following list
identifies those grammatical features that SQA exam setters and markers have focused
on. (In the quotations from the examination texts, the original line references are given,
to help those who wish to refer to the full examination paper. The source of these
quotations is listed in the bibliography; see Scottish Qualifications Authority, 2006.)

10.3.1 At the Level of Words

Some past examination questions have focused on grammatical items such as
determiners and pronouns. Exam questions have raised issues such as the inclusiveness
or exclusiveness of determiners (my/our, your, his/her/its/their) and pronouns
(I/me/we/us, you, he/him/she/her/it//they/them) to include or exclude author and/or
readers in an argument. For example, the following passage from The Herald, written by

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Ruth Wishart, and featured in the 2003 ‘Higher’, sets up clear categories of ‘us’ and
‘them’:

Yet Ireland has managed to attract its young

entrepreneurs back to help drive a burgeoning
economy. We must try to do likewise. We need
immigrants. We cannot grow the necessary skills 105
fast enough to fill the gap sites. We need people
with energy and commitment and motivation,
three characteristics commonly found among those
whose circumstances prompt them to make huge
sacrifices to find a new life.

Here, the issue is who is being described as ‘us’ (presumably ‘indigenous’ Scots) and
who is being categorised as ‘them’ (here, in turn, the Irish and immigrants to Scotland).
The grammatical resources of determiner and pronoun construct social groups that can
then be contrasted in ways that suit the writer’s purpose. There is no ‘natural’ category
that the determiners and pronouns may refer to – ‘us’ could in principle incorporate
Europeans, or even every member of the human race or of life on Earth, so long as it is
contrasted with an equally constructed ‘other’.

Other exams focus on the use of particular verbs, modal auxiliary verbs, adjectives and
adverbs to express possibility or obligation. The article by Ruth Wishart can again be
used as an illustration:

Yet Ireland has managed to attract its young

entrepreneurs back to help drive a burgeoning
economy. We must try to do likewise. We need
immigrants. We cannot grow the necessary skills 105
fast enough to fill the gap sites. We need people
with energy and commitment and motivation,
three characteristics commonly found among those
whose circumstances prompt them to make huge
sacrifices to find a new life.

Here there is a contrast between fact (‘Ireland has managed…’) and obligation (‘We
must…’), requirement (‘We need…’) and inability (‘We cannot…’). Fact, obligation,
requirement and ability are all expressed by verbs, often modal auxiliaries
(‘must/cannot’).

As we suggested in Chapter 9 of this book, it is worth paying attention to verbs and their
forms. Exam questions have probed the use of shifts in verb tense to indicate changing
perspectives – to distance or bring dramatically closer. An extract from the 2006
‘Higher’ examination, taken from The Economist, illustrates a simple shift from
distanced past to a more immediate present:

When the world was a simpler place, the

rich were fat, the poor were thin, and

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 right-thinking people worried about
how to feed the hungry. Now, in much of
the world, the rich are thin, the poor are 5
fat, and right-thinking people are
worrying about obesity.

To sum up, at the level of word, examiners of close reading have been concerned with
issues such as how grammatical choices at word level have established social categories.
Critical, close readers should therefore be conscious of how the patterning of
determiners, pronouns and nouns expresses categories such as these/those people,
us/them, Scots/immigrants/foreigners/asylum seekers. As noted above, these categories
are questionable and can be deconstructed.

Examiners have also been interested in how verb forms articulate fact, obligation,
necessity, requirement – and social and temporal immediacy and distance. In journalistic
editorials and, more recently, blogs, arguments often move from a series of statements
offered as facts (e.g. ‘the rich are thin and the poor are fat’) to a conclusion that states
an obligation or necessity (‘parents should pay more attention to children’s diet’; ‘food
suppliers must give more information on labels’). Close readers, therefore, may be
advised to pay particular attention to tense and modality when considering the
construction of persuasive prose.

10.3.2 At Clause Level

Past examination questions and the model answers suggest that examiners are interested
in two or three recurring issues at the level of the clause. The first issue is to do with the
complexity of sentences. Close readers should assess the impact of writing prose that is
made up largely of simple and compound sentences (i.e. sentences containing one verb
phrase, and clauses strung together using the conjunctions and, but and or), or prose that
is made up largely of complex sentences (i.e. sentences containing multiple subordinate,
or embedded clauses).

Choosing a simple or complex sentence structure can have a number of effects. A

relatively simple sentence structure is associated with speech while a relatively complex
sentence structure is associated with writing. The use of ‘spoken’ features also reduces
social distance between writer and reader and the grammatical features associated with
speech may further indicate ‘plain common sense’. Simple sentences also contain fewer
ideas – usually one proposition per sentence – and so arguments that use simple
sentences can seem ‘blunt’. Another text taken from the 2006 examination paper, this
time written by Susie Orbach, a clinician, for The Observer, illustrates a relatively
simple style. The simple sentences are here italicised:

So sections of the market aim to profit 45

from the notion that we are all too fat.
We need to contest that. It isn’t the case.
Evidence from the professional
journals shows that fitness, not fat,
determines our mortality. You can be 50
fat, fit and healthy.

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A simple prose style can be contrasted with the relative sophistication of a style that
deploys complex sentences, in which ideas are often linked by conjunctions that indicate
their status as condition, qualification, reason, result, and so on. A complex style
demands more processing by the reader, and it is more typical of ornate or philosophical
prose than everyday journalism. In the following extract from The Times, taken from the
specimen paper for the 2003 ‘Higher’ examination, the author uses a fairly complex
style – but softens it by breaking up the subordinate clauses into ‘sentence fragments’
(here italicised), and using tag questions and colloquial vocabulary to reduce the
distance between writer and reader:

Now 40
it seems that global warming is recreating the very
same conditions which caused it to stall before,
with the potential to plunge the whole of northern
Europe into another Ice Age.

Which is a bit ironic as we slosh around in sodden, 45

rainswept towns and villages; as we discuss the
extraordinary late autumn and give up hope for a
white Christmas. Global warming was going to
bring Mediterranean holiday weather to Brighton
and vineyards to Argyll, wasn’t it? Global 50
warming is the reason why spring-flowering iris
and cistus are blooming crazily in November. So
how could it turn England’s green and rather tepid
land into a frozen waste?

Here, the use of the interrogative mood (in the tag question wasn’t it?, and the rhetorical
question that concludes the extract) can be viewed as involvement strategies that offset
the complexity of the sentence structure, as evident, for example, in the opening
sentence 40-4, which contains no fewer than five clauses:

[Now 40
it seems [that global warming is recreating the very
same conditions [which caused it [to stall before]]],
with the potential [to plunge the whole of northern
Europe into another Ice Age]].

Past examination questions also suggest that the examiners are interested in the
relationship of clause structure to punctuation – close readers should ask how writers
use dashes and semi-colons. The following extract from The Economist, taken from the
2006 ‘Higher’ paper, illustrates this point:

There is no doubt that obesity is the 35

world’s biggest public-health issue
today – the main cause of heart disease,

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 which kills more people these days than
AIDS, malaria, war; the principal risk
factor in diabetes; heavily implicated in 40
cancer and other diseases. Since the
World Health Organisation labelled
obesity an epidemic in 2000, reports on
its fearful consequences have come thick
and fast.

A dash is often used to introduce a reformulation and elaboration of the earlier part of a
sentence. Here the first sentence has the structure There is no doubt that X is Y, and the
dash introduces three reformulations and elaborations of Y. The three reformulations are
two highly modified noun phrases and one highly modified adjective phrase, all of
which are separated by semi-colons. The ‘pocket answers’ to the Close Reading
questions for this examination suggest that the ‘semi-colons [are] used to separate items
in a list which emphasises the serious/life-threatening consequences of obesity’.
Teachers and pupils may be forgiven for considering this observation unhelpful. After
all, any observation that the grammatical structure ‘emphasises’ the content is in danger
of seeming trite. It is more useful to consider why the author felt the need to elaborate
on the claim that ‘obesity is the world’s biggest public-health issue today’. The strength
of this claim may incline some readers to consider it to be an exaggeration, and so the
reformulations introduced by the dash provide three powerful justifications that support
the initial proposition. Each of the three reformulations is detailed and complex, and so
each is separated by a semi-colon to promote ease of reading.

The interplay between punctuation and grammar in any text is complicated and
fascinating. Punctuation patterns change over time, and according to genre. Those texts
designed to be read aloud may use commas and dashes to indicate pauses of varying
length in oral performance. Literary texts that aim to represent streams of consciousness
may use dashes to separate individual impressions or stray thoughts. Those texts that are
designed primarily to be read may use punctuation to separate units of information. Any
commentary on punctuation made by a close reader should take into account when the
text was written, whether or not it was written for oral performance, the type of text it is,
and how the punctuation interacts with the grammatical structure to aid the reader’s
comprehension.

10.4 Paying Attention to Discourse

The SQA ‘Higher’ questions are concerned not only with word choice and sentence
structure, but the general impact of grammatical patterning as a stylistic feature and as a
means of structuring discourse. This concern manifests itself in an awareness of
repetition and variation, that is:

• repetition of grammatical features (lists of nouns, parallel clauses) for rhetorical

effect; the cumulative power of lists (especially lists of three things)
• the way any variation to these parallel structures sets up a climax or contrast.

Lists pepper the SQA ‘Higher’ texts. The ‘pocket answers’ suggest that close readers are
expected to identify and comment on some aspect of such lists. A typical example is an
extract from Time in the 2003 specimen paper:

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 Deluges, droughts, fires, landslides, avalanches, 1
gales, tornadoes; is it just our imagination, or is
Europe’s weather getting worse?

The question in the Close Reading section of the paper asks candidates to identify one
language feature that makes the opening sentence of this text ‘dramatic’. The ‘pocket
answers’ suggest that the examiners might be satisfied simply by the identification of
the list of natural disasters, or the alliteration on deluges/droughts and weather/worse
that characterises the two halves of the sentence. A perceptive close reader might go
further and note that before the semi-colon the first half of the sentence is simply a verb-
less series of nouns, while after the semi-colon there is a rhetorical question. The
structure of the sentence therefore lays before the reader an extended series of natural
catastrophes as the basis for an urgent question that involves both author and reader (‘is
it just our imagination’).

The texts chosen for the SQA ‘Higher’ examinations are also characterised by a high
degree of grammatical parallelism. Parallelism involves the repetition, usually with
some variation, of a grammatical structure. We have already seen examples of this
above, and one illustration, written by Ruth Wishart, is shown again below:

Yet Ireland has managed to attract its young

entrepreneurs back to help drive a burgeoning
economy. We must try to do likewise. We need
immigrants. We cannot grow the necessary skills 105
fast enough to fill the gap sites. We need people
with energy and commitment and motivation,
three characteristics commonly found among those
whose circumstances prompt them to make huge
sacrifices to find a new life.

Here the parallelism sets up a contrast between modal auxiliaries expressing necessity
and inability (We must…We cannot) and main verbs expressing requirements (We
need… We need…).

One feature of grammatical parallelism is that repeated structures often come in threes,
reaching a climax in the third variation on the theme. The example from The Economist
is a good example of this, since the pattern of three is then repeated and inverted:

When the world was a simpler place, [1] the

rich were fat, [2] the poor were thin, and
[3] right-thinking people worried about
how to feed the hungry. Now, in much of
the world, [1A] the rich are thin, [2A] the poor are 5
fat, and [3A] right-thinking people are
worrying about obesity.

Close readers note the role grammatical patterning plays as a rhetorical strategy, that is
how it structures texts in a pleasing and persuasive fashion. But in order to be able to do

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this, close readers must be able to identify what these patterns are. And in order to get
credit for identifying these patterns, close readers must be able to describe them in
accurate, technical language.

10.5 Conclusion
The preceding sections give an admittedly partial snapshot of the way that the SQA
examinations in English have sought to assess candidates’ grammatical knowledge. The
questions currently included in the ‘Close Reading’ section of the SQA ‘Higher’
examination are certainly wide in coverage. The few examples given above range from
commentaries on verb tense and modality to the length and structure of complex clauses.
In other words, candidates are expected to be familiar with practically everything in this
book and to be able to call upon that knowledge, if only for the sake of a handful of
marks in one section of an extensive examination. Given that much time is required to
acquire this facility, the pragmatic teacher and pupil might opt to sacrifice the paltry
credit awarded for the acquisition of grammatical skill, and concentrate instead on the
development of other skills that are more highly rewarded – for example, the skills of
paraphrasing and summarising.

As we write, the ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ is being implemented and there is the
perennial talk of redesigning ‘Higher’ English. We suggest that if curriculum designers
truly wish attention to be paid to grammatical structure, they must reward the effort
made in learning about it – and they may wish to decide which aspects of the many
grammatical characteristics that could be learned about should be specifically targeted.
Naturally, a common language of description needs to be disseminated amongst
teachers. Some years ago, an electronic resource called LILT (Language into Languages
Learning) was developed by teachers of English and Modern Languages in Scotland,
specifically with this aim in mind; it is available online at

http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/SESLL/EngLang/LILT/frameset.htm

The language used to describe language in the LILT project largely accords with the
descriptive framework used in this book. There are some differences, particularly
because different languages are differently organised, and therefore sometimes require a
slightly different terminology. Terminological quibbles aside, it is surely not beyond the
capacity or the wit of today’s educationalists to provide a systematic means of
describing, teaching and assessing a core set of grammatical features. The increasing
accessibility of free, online corpora with search tools means that rich resources are
available for evidence-based grammatical analysis of speech and writing. (Further
information on these resources is given in Anderson and Corbett, 2009.) Given the
unarguable complexity of grammatical knowledge, teachers may reasonably demand
more specific guidance about expected coverage of core concepts in future examination
Arrangements documents – not just at ‘Higher’ level. We hope that the current book will
not only help teachers, pupils and students to understand grammar, but that it will also
help them engage more confidently in future public debates on the teaching and learning
of grammar in Scotland today.

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Suggested Answers To Activities

The answers given here are sometimes very precise, and sometimes more generally
suggestive, depending on the nature of the questions.

Chapter 1
1.4 Discussion Topics

The quotations (i)-(iv) in (a) all express prescriptive (and sometimes highly dubious)
beliefs about English. The rules of grammar are sometimes seen as a metaphor for an
ordered and orderly society; Norman Tebbit and John Rae confuse the two; John Simon
reveals his own ignorance about how language variation works; Anthony Lejune betrays
some common misconceptions about linguistic systems and logic. Myths and prejudices
about language abound; the study of language can enlighten us about them.

1.6 SCOTS search

Team is one of a set of words known as collective nouns, that is the nouns refer to a
group of individual people or things. They can therefore be thought of as singular (one
team) or plural (team members). Their agreement with verbs consequently varies,
although British English tends now to consider collective nouns as plural, particularly in
speech, and American English continues to take the traditionalist line and consider them
as singular.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2.6 Activities: Thinking about Meaning, Form and Function

Activity 1 ‘Jabberwocky’
slithy gimble raths outgrabe
1. happy amble owls hooted
2. lovely jump ferrets squeaked
3. sly frolic beetles hunted
4. slimy splash leaves rustled
5. ugly play flowers blossomed

You will of course have different words in your lists, but it is also almost certain that
slithy will be one of a group of adjectives, gimble and outgrabe will be among groups of
verbs and raths will be one of a group of plural nouns. It is just possible, if you have
decided that raths is the present tense of a verb, that outgrabe will be an adverb (the
mome raths outgrabe = the farmer works outside, etc.); however, a present-tense
conclusion to the verse would not be in keeping with the past-tenses of the first three
lines. Remember, making substitution lists like these can help you decide the part of
speech of an unknown word (e.g. here slithy must an adjective, since it is only replaced
by Aj’s).

Activity 2
A literal word-for-word translation of the Portuguese is given below:
O Talco Johnson’s baby é feito com o talco
The Talcum Johnson’s baby is made with the talcum
da mais alta qualidade e pureza, que junto
of more high quality and purity, that together

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 com sua exclusiva fragrância, deixa a pele
with its exclusive fragrance, leaves the skin
suave, macia e perfumada, protegendo-a
smooth, soft and perfumed, protecting it
contra o atrito e umidade que podem causar
against the friction and dampness that can cause
assaduras e irritações.
sores and irritations.

(a) Form: Note that Portuguese nouns often end in <-idade> (qualidade, umidade)
and that the form of the noun affects the form of the adjectives which modify it
(exclusiva fragrancia...pele suave, etc). Like English, the plural of the noun is
formed by adding <-s> (assaduras, irritações). Verbs often end in <-o> (feito,
protegendo).
(b) Function: Note that the order of modifiers and headwords in Portuguese Noun
Phrases is different from English: Johnson’s Baby Powder corresponds to Talco
Johnson’s Baby. The rules governing the use of the determiner o/a (the) are
different too: first, there are two forms, and secondly, the definite article is used in
Portuguese when it would not be used in English.
(c) Meanings: Perhaps you were able to work out much of the meaning by using
‘cognate’ words – words that are shared by both languages, e.g. qualidade,
fragrância. However, knowledge of the grammatical rules governing Portuguese is
necessary to figure out how the words fit together to make sense.

Activity 3
In sentences 1, 2, 5 and 10, fast is an adverb, and can usually be replaced by another
adverb, quickly. In sentences 3, 6, 8 and 9, fast is an adjective, and describes various
things. It cannot always be replaced by quick – no-one, for example, talks about the
quick lane of a motorway, though fast in fast lane corresponds to the adjective slow in
slow lane. In sentence 4, fast is a noun, referring to an event in which people refrain
from eating. In sentence 7, fast is again an adverb, this time intensifying the adjective
and meaning something like totally or completely.

Chapter 3

3.3.1 Activities

Activities 1-4, have no set answers since your individual searches will come up with
individual results. They are designed to raise your awareness of the four main open
word classes, and to familiarise you further with SCOTS searches.

Activity 5 Multiple membership

Which word-class does round belong to in the following sentences?

a. She had round blue eyes. Aj

b. Do you fancy a round of golf? N
c. The bus rounded the corner. V
d. Most soup-plates are round. Aj
e. Why don’t you come round later? Av

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3.3.2 Texts A and B

Text A

1. Av 7. pr
2. N 8. a
3. i 9. V
4. d 10. n
5. c 11. pn
6. Aj

Text B
1. Av 7. c
2. pr 8. d
3. Aj 9. V
4. pn 10. a
5. N 11. i
6. n

Chapter 4

4.5 Activity 1

Label the open-class parts of speech in the following passage from Sheila Mackay’s
Mountain Music, an extract from which can be found in the SCOTS corpus. Think about
the reasons behind your decisions – i.e. are you relying on meaning, form or function, or
a combination of the three? For convenience, sections of the passage are numbered.

(1) We blethered in French, our only common language.

V N Av Aj N
(2) He spoke of an arduous journey, many months long, over deserts, dusty
V Aj N N Aj N Aj
roads and the sea itself,
N N
(3) to get to Palma where he lives now in a barrio with other Sengali men.
V N V Av N Aj N
(4) Later, I bought UV sunglasses from an older man
Av V Aj N Aj N
(5) who told me he had a wife and several children back home
V V N N Av Av
(6) and that it would be one year and one month before he could go back.
N N V Av
(7) He was counting the days.
V N

Notes: in (1) French could be classified according to its form as an adjective (like
Sengali); it has been classified here according to its function as the headword in a
prepositional phrase, a position normally occupied by a noun. In (4) UV (ultra-violet)
has been considered a version of the colour adjective violet. It could alternatively be
considered an abbreviation of a material that restricts the passage of ultra-violet
radiation, and so could be considered a noun modifier. In (5) had is considered an open-
class word because it is the headword of a verb phrase; if the phrase had been had got

128
then had would be an auxiliary verb and so classified, in this case, as a closed-class
item.

Look at the closed-class words in the passage. What can you say about their role in the
text compared to the open-class items?

Answer: Their function is largely to modify open-class items, or, in the case of the many
pronouns, to prevent repetition. In comparison with the open-class items, they carry
little meaning on their own. Try reading the text using the open-class items only. Then
do it again with the closed-class words only.

Activity 2

From the underlined words in the passage, select examples of the following:
(a) a count noun journey (b) a gradable adjective dusty (c) a comparative adjective
older (d) a non-gradable adjective Sengali (e) a possessive determiner our (f) an
adverb of time later (g) a preposition over (h) a conjunction and (i) a main verb
blethered (j) a modal auxiliary verb would (k) a pronoun me

Activity 3

You will have your own examples of this.

Activity 4

Label the ten underlined parts of speech in the following paragraph, also from Sheila
Mackay’s Mountain Music. Sort the ten items into open and closed parts of speech.

At a cornucopic (Aj) vegetable stall, an ebullient young Mallorcan offers (V)

me a Spanish lesson:
‘Espinacas.’ Holding up a bundle (N) of dewy green leaves.
‘Medio kilo, por favor.’
Then (Av) a bunch of plump green beans:
‘Judias verdes,’ he smiles as (c) I repeat: ‘Hoodias berdee’.
The lesson continues, my basket fills, and so (Av) pleased is he with (pr) our
joint effort that he (pn) throws in extra mandarins as a reward.

Activity 5

Label ALL the parts of speech in the first sentence of the above extract by writing the
abbreviation under each item, e.g.

At a cornucopic vegetable stall, an ebullient young Mallorcan offers me a Spanish

pr d Aj N N d Aj Aj N V pn d Aj

lesson.
N

Note that Mallorcan has again been classified here as a Noun, according to its function
(headword of a NP) and not its form as an Adjective. A case could be made for an
alternative analysis.

129
Chapter 5

5.8 Activity 1

M M H H x M H
(a) (My entire being) (concentrated) (on the task.)
NP d Aj N VP V PP pr d N

x M H H H H
(b) (In my agitation,) (I) ( lost) (control.)
PP pr d N NP pn VP V NP N

M H H
(c) (The car) (somersaulted.)
NP d N VP V

M H H M H
(d) (The roof) (hit) (the rock.)
NP d N VP V NP d N

H H H
(e) (Everything) (went) (black.)
NP pn VP V AjP Aj

M H H H x H
(f) (A nurse) (leaned) (impatiently) (over me.)
NP d N VP V AvP Av PP pr pn

H H x H x H
(g) (I) (stared) (at her) (in astonishment.)
NP pn VP V PP pr pn PP pr N

M H H M H H
(h) (Dried blood) (coloured) (my hair) (red.)
NP Aj N VP V NP d N AjP Aj

M M M H M H x M M H
(i) (A large yellow-blue-black bruise) (had spread) (over my right cheek)
NP d Aj Aj N VP a V PP pr d Aj N
x x M H
and (round my eye.)
c pr d N

130
 M M H M M H M H
(j) (That skeletal image) (might have been) (my reality.)
NP d Aj N VP a a V NP d N

Activity 2
Consider the sentences below. Imagine how you would explain to someone, using
accurate grammatical terminology, why one sentence sounds perfectly acceptable, and
the other does not:
In a very large whisky, large is an adjective that describes the noun, whisky. It is a
gradable adjective, and can itself be modified by the degree adverb very to
signify, in this case, an increase in size.

In a malt whisky, malt is a noun modifier that tells us the type of whisky it is. As a
noun, it cannot usually be modified by degree adverbs like very.

How would you explain to a learner of English as a second language how the following
phrases are constructed and what they mean?
Yes, I would say it’s very Perth as well, to be skint
He doesn’t seem very rock and roll, does he, Jasper Carrott
These are examples of the creative use of language to break the kinds of rule noted
above with very malt. In other words, the degree adverb very seems here to be used to
modify a noun. However, the meanings of the nouns here are actually more like
adjectives – Perth means something like Perth-like, and rock and roll means something
like characteristic of rock and roll. In other words, there would be a case, on the
grounds of meaning and function, despite their form, for classifying these nouns as
adjectives…in these unusual contexts.

Chapter 6

6.5 Activities

Activity 1
From sentences 1-7 below, identify:

a) one ambiguous Noun Phrase (7)

b) two Noun Phrases containing an embedded Adjective Phrase (1, 6)
c) two Noun Phrases containing an embedded Prepositional Phrase (2, 4)
d) one Adjective Phrase containing an embedded Prepositional Phrase (5)
e) one Noun Phrase with an embedded Genitive Phrase (3)

Activity 2
Once you have identified the phrase structures in Activity 1, analyse the whole phrase.

MM M H H
1. (an (extremely enjoyable) reading)
NP d AjP Av Aj N

131
 M H Mx M M H
2. (a house (with a stone stair))
NP d N PP pr d N N

MM H H
3. (a (doctor’s) line)
NP d GP N N

M H Mx M H
4. (a dog (wi twa tails))
d N PP pr d N

M H Mx M H
5. (quite lucky (with our neighbours))
Av Aj PP pr d N

M M M H H
6. (a (very good) job)
NP d AjP Av Aj N

M M M H
7. (more affordable rented homes) or
NP d Aj Aj N

M M H M H
7. ( (more affordable) rented homes)
NP AjP Av Aj Aj N

Activity 3
Analyse the following phrases, extracted from the interview with Michael Stipe:

M M H MxM M M H
1. (The lead singer (of the US stadium rockers))
NP d N N PP pr d N N N

M M H Mx M H
2. (the biggest band (in the world))
NP d Aj N PP pr d N

M HMx M H
3. (a pair (of Woody Allen specs))
NP d N PP pr N N

M M H Mx H
4. (A <salt-and-pepper> carpet (of stubble)) You can analyse salt-and-pepper
NP d N c N N PP pr N as a single compound N if you wish.

132
 M H Mx M H
5. (a quarter (of a century))
NP d N PP pr d N

M H MxM M H
6. (the figurehead (of a global phenomenon))
NP d N PP pr d Aj N

M M H M x H
7. (an astonishing piece (of music))
NP d Aj N PP pr N

M H Mx M H
8. (a period (of prolific writing))
NP d N PP pr Aj N

Chapter 7

7.8 Activities

Activity
Try analysing these examples, taken from the children’s story Katie Morag and the Two
Grandmothers by Mairi Hedderwick (SCOTS Document 832):

AM M M H S H P H O H A H
1. MCl [(One sunny Wednesday morning) (Mrs McColl) (woke) (Katie Morag) (early.)]
NP d Aj N N NP N VP V NP N AvP Av

AH P H S M H
2. MCl [ (Here) (comes) (the boat.)]
AvP Av VP V NP d N

S H P H AM H Ax M M H
3. MCl [ (Granma Mainland) (lived) (far away) (in the big city.)]
NP N VP V AvP Av Av PP pr d Aj N

x S H PH AH CM M M H
4. MCl [My, (you) (‘re) (still) (a smart wee Bobby Dazzler.)]
i NP pn VP V AvP Av NP d Aj Aj N

S H P H OM H A M H
5. MCl [ (Grannie Island) (revved) (the engine) (very loudly.)]
NP N VP V NP d N AvP Av Av

S H PH A H CM M H Ax M H M x H
6. MCl [(Show Day) (was) (always) ( a big event) (on the Island (of Struay))].
NP N VP V AvP Av NP d Aj N PP pr d N PP pr N

S M H Ax M H
There are alternative ways of parsing (Show Day) and (on the Island of Struay), depending on
NP N N PP pr d N

the level of detail you want to give about the internal structure of proper nouns.

133
 S H PH C M H M H
7. MCl [ (Alecina) (was) ( (Grannie Island’s) prize sheep.)]
NP N VP V NP GP N N N

x SH P H A H
8. MCl [ But (all) (ended) ( well.)]
c NP pn VP V AvP Av

Chapter 8

8.6 Activity

a) a complex sentence containing an embedded Prepositional Clause functioning as an

Adverbial (4)
b) a complex sentence containing an embedded Adverbial Clause introduced by a
conjunction (5)
c) a complex sentence containing an embedded Comparative Clause (3)
d) a complex sentence containing an embedded Noun Clause (1)
e) a complex sentence containing a Noun which is post-modified by a Relative Clause.
(2)

Now try analysing the sentences fully.

S O H S H P H P H C M M H
1. Se { MCl [ SCl [ (What) (you) (have)] (is) (an advance copy.)]}
NCl NP pn NP pn VP V VP V NP d N N

A H PH SM H M S H PH O M H
2. Se{ MCl [ (Upstairs) (were) (loft bedrooms, SCl [ (which) (had) (skylight windows.)])]}
AvP Av VP V NP N N RCl NP pn VP V NP N N

PH S H C H Mx H M x SH P H
3. Se { MCl [ (Are) (you) (happier (in Morningside) SCl [ than (you) (were)
VP V NP pn AjP Aj PP pr N CCl c NP pn VP V
Ax M H
(at the Grassmarket?)])]}
PP pr d N

S…H P M …S H O M M H A x S H P M H
4. Se { MCl [ (We) (will (all) take) (a keen interest) SCl [ in (what) (is happening.)]]}
NP pn VP a pn V NP d Aj N ACl pr NP pn VP a V

The above sentence includes a discontinuous element we…all, which together functions
as the Subject. The discontinuity of the Subject is shown by the dots (S…S). We all has
been analysed as a compound pronoun, the second part of which has been inserted (but
not embedded) into the Predicator. Compare We all will take a keen interest…

S M H PM H Ax M H A x S x PH
5. Se { MCl [ (The bill) (has moved) (in that direction,) SCl [ although (there) (is)
NP d N VP d N PP pr d N ACl c VP V

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 S H Mx M H
(potential (for further reform))]]
NP N PP pr Aj N

In this sentence, the ACl is an existential clause, with there as the dummy subject, and
potential for further reform as the real Subject (See Chapter 7.2.1).

Chapter 9
9.12 Activities
Activity 1
1. modal auxiliary, third person singular, past simple subjunctive, intransitive.
2. main verb, third person singular, past simple indicative, intransitive.
3. main verb, third person singular, past simple indicative, intransitive.
4. primary auxiliary and main verb, second person singular (there is ellipsis of you),
present simple imperative, negative, intransitive.
5. main verb, second person singular, present simple indicative, intransitive.
6. primary auxiliary and main verb, third person singular, present perfective
indicative, transitive.
7. main verb, first person singular, present simple indicative, intransitive.
8. primary auxiliary and main verb, first person singular, present continuous
indicative, intransitive.
9. main verb, second person singular, past simple indicative, intransitive.
10. primary auxiliary and main verb, first person plural, present continuous indicative,
transitive.
All the verbs are in the active voice.

Activity 2
Make a complete form and function analysis of the sentences below. All contain
different types of VP structure.

S H P M H A x M M H
a. Se { MCl [ (Jane) (was talking) (about her Wishaw childhood.)]}
NP N VP a V PP pr d N N

SM M H P H O M M H A x M H
b. Se { MCl [ (A tall tree) (twinkled) (its Christmas message) (over the statues.)]}
NP d Aj N VP V NP d N N PP pr d N

A H S H P M H O H Co M H
c. Se { MCl [ (However,) (this) (has made ) (me) (a sceptic.)]}
AvP Av NP pn VP a V NP pn NP d N

SM M H Mx H PM HOM H Mx M H
d. Se {MCl [ (A concomitant impact (on that)) (will be) (a switch (to imported tobacco.))]}
NP d Aj N PP pr pn VP a V NP d N PP pr Aj N

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 S H P M M M H
e. Se { MCl [ (They) (must have been delivered.)]}
NP pn VP a a a V

Activity 3
1. The problem here is that present tense, perfective aspect (have met) is used in a
sentence that specifies past time (on Saturday). In such a context, either past tense,
simple aspect (met) should be used, or the Adverbial should be changed to make the past
time non-specific (e.g. already).

2. Here the problem is the opposite to that of (1). Past tense, simple aspect has been used
with an Adverbial which expresses non-specific time in the past. However, note that this
combination is permissible in American English. The British English equivalent would
be something like Have you seen her yet/already?

3. Again the problem here is to do with aspect choice combined with the Adverbial. The
Adverbial (every morning) expresses habitual action, not necessarily happening now.
The progressive aspect expresses actions which have duration, and combined with
present tense, this usually means that the action is happening now. With this Adverbial,
the correct verb form would be simple aspect, present tense: He watches television
every morning.

4. Here the problem is the combination of Subject and Predicator. The Predicator has
not been marked for agreement (concord) with the third-person singular Subject. It
should be My neighbour...plays...

5. Here we have two clauses in a complex sentence, linked by a conjunction expressing

simultaneity in time, when. The odd thing about the verbs in these clauses is that an
action of long duration (smoking) is expressed as if it were a single, complete action
(past tense, simple aspect: he smoked) while an event of short duration (I came in) is
expressed as if it had duration (past tense, progressive aspect: I was coming in). We
would expect the aspects to be reversed: He was smoking a cigarette when I came in.

Activity 4
Much could be said about these pairs of sentences. The following brief notes are simply
for guidance.

1&2
Futurity is expressed through present tense. The propositions are treated as facts, not
predictions. Sentence (2) adds the idea of duration to the event.

3&4
Alternative ways of expressing predictions. Difference in formality?

5&6
Sentence (5) is ambiguous – does it express obligation or deduction? When you add the
idea of duration in (6) the sense of obligation seems to be lost, and only the deductive
meaning of ‘must’ is possible.

7&8
Sentence (7) expresses permission: who would say this? – the controller? When you
change ‘can’ to ‘could’ the sense of permission changes to possibility – sentence (8)
expresses a hypothesis.

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9 & 10
(9) expresses a completed action in the past. (10) does so too, but uses the present
perfective, which is against the rules of standard English.

Activities 5 & 6
No suggested answers are given here for these activities. They are for your consideration
and discussion. Try looking up these topics in different grammar reference books, some
of which are listed in the Further Reading that follows. How consistent are the
explanations given?

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Further Reading

This grammar book is written within the main British grammatical tradition, developed
by Lord Randolph Quirk and his associates at University College, London. The first five
books on the list come directly from this tradition, and are listed in order of size, shortest
to longest.

1. G. Leech, M. Deuchar & R. Hoogenraad (1982, 2nd edition 2005), English

Grammar for Today, London: Macmillan. [The bracketing method used in this book
served as a basis for the method used in the present book. English Grammar for
Today might usefully be bought as a supplement if you want more detail about the
approach.]

2. G. Leech & J. Svartvik (1975, 2nd edition 1994), A Communicative Grammar of

English, London: Longman. [Most of this book is intended for people who have
already studied grammar; there is a useful summary at the end.]

3. R. Quirk & S. Greenbaum (1973), A University Grammar of English, London:

Longman. [A medium-sized reference grammar where you can read up specific
points at greater length.]

4. R. Quirk, S. Greenbaum, G. Leech & J. Svartvik (1972), A Grammar of

Contemporary English, London: Longman.

5. R. Quirk, S. Greenbaum, G. Leech & J. Svartvik (1985), A Comprehensive Grammar

of the English Language, London: Longman.

Like more recent descriptive grammars, the present book makes use of corpus data, in
particular the SCOTS corpus. A pioneering project in this regard is the 100-million
word British National Corpus (http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/), and an even more extensive
resource is the Corpus of Contemporary American English (http://americancorpus.org).
Useful corpus-informed grammars of English include:

6. Douglas Biber, Stig Johansson, Geoffrey Leech, Susan Conrad & Edward Finegan
(1999), Longman Grammar of Written and Spoken English, London: Longman.

7. Mike McCarthy & Ronald Carter (2006), The Cambridge Grammar of Written and
Spoken English, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The use of digitised corpora in language study is becoming a discipline in its own right.
Good introductory books on this subject include:

8. W. Anderson & J. Corbett (2009) Exploring English with Online Corpora, London:
Palgrave Macmillan [Includes further activities that make use of the SCOTS corpus,
alongside freely available online corpora of British and American English]

9. J. Sinclair (1991), Corpus, Concordance, Collocation, Oxford: Oxford University

Press

If you continue to yearn for an authoritative guide to English usage, something that will
tell you what you should do, rather than something that seeks to describe your linguistic
behaviour, then the following guide is up-to-date, sensible and useful:

10. Pam Peters (2004), The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

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Numbers 3-7 listed above are large reference grammars. They answer most thorny
questions, and can be consulted in many libraries. Shorter but useful introductory
books, in alphabetical order, by author, are:

11. N.F. Blake (1988), Traditional English Grammar and Beyond, London: Macmillan.
12. R. Bolitho & B. Tomlinson (1981, 3rd edition 2005), Discover English, London:
Macmillan.
13. N. Burton-Roberts (1986), Analysing Sentences, London: Longman.
14. D. Crystal (1988), Rediscover Grammar, London: Longman.
15. D. Freeborn (1987), A Course Book in English Grammar, London: Macmillan.
16. S. Greenbaum (1991), An Introduction to English Grammar, London: Longman.
17. J. Hurford (1994), Grammar: A Student’s Guide, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
18. H. Jackson (1990), Grammar and Meaning, London: Longman.
19. F.R. Palmer (1971, 1984), Grammar, Harmondsworth: Penguin.
20. L. Thomas (1993), Beginning Syntax, Oxford: Blackwell.
21. L. Todd (1985), English Grammar, Harlow: Longman.
22. E. Woods (1995), Introducing Grammar, London: Penguin.

If you have been challenged and stimulated by this book, and want to delve further into
grammatical theory and related issues, then the following books are recommended:

23. S. Eggins (1994), An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics, London: Pinter.

[A reasonably reader-friendly introduction to a grammatical theory associated with
the linguist Michael Halliday. Grammatical form and function are sorted into
systems of meaning in relation to social contexts.]

24. S. Pinker (1994), The Language Instinct, London: Penguin. [A broad survey of
issues related to transformational-generative grammar. Grammar is seen not as a
social construct but as the outcome of innate mental processes, a universal
‘mentalese’.]

The grammar of English is, of course, subject to change. If you are interested in how
grammar changes over time, the following books are useful:

25. J. Smith (1996), An Historical Study of English, London: Routledge. [Explains

various social mechanisms of change in the pronunciation and grammar of English,
from Geoffrey Chaucer to Linton Kwesi Johnson.]

26. C. Hough & J. Corbett (2006), Beginning Old English, London: Palgrave
Macmillan. [This is a beginners’ guide to the oldest forms of English, written with a
view to getting you started reading and understanding Old English literature as
quickly and easily as possible.]

As the SCOTS corpus develops, new descriptions of language in Scotland will appear.
A recent example, which makes use of early data from the SCOTS project, is:

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27. Bergs, Alexander (2005), Modern Scots 2nd edition. Munich: Lincom Europa.

Finally, the source of texts used in Chapter 10 to illustrate grammatical knowledge, as

tested in the SQA ‘Higher’ examination is:

28. Scottish Qualifications Authority (2006), Higher English: Official SQA Past Papers
with Answers 2003-6. Edinburgh: Leckie and Leckie [This series is updated annually.
The ‘Higher’ examination is due for one of its periodic revisions; the current regulations
are available in the Arrangements documents on the SQA website:
http://www.sqa.org.uk/]

Dictionaries

You are strongly advised to invest in a good desk dictionary, such as Collins or
Chambers or the Concise Oxford. Do what few people ever do: read the preface to your
dictionary. Become a critical user, and notice how the dictionary works and what it does
well or badly. Pay attention to the grammatical information given for each entry. A
particularly interesting dictionary from a linguistic point of view is the Collins English
Dictionary, 9th revised edition, London: Collins, 2007. For Scots, see the Concise Scots
Dictionary, revised edition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1987.

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