Module : ENG 3141 Advanced English Structure

Facilitator : VT Bvuma and A Ngqandu

Content : Module outline

INTRODUCTION
In the previous language modules we have looked at language under the topics, phonetics
(sounds), phonology (patterning of sounds), morphology (word formation) and syntax
(sentence structure). Under morphology we have looked at words in terms of -among other
ways- word classes; that is, whether a word is a verb, noun, adjective, etc.
In this module we go a step further: we look at words, not just in terms of form (word class),
but also in terms of function (the role a word plays in a sentence). The entire module
focuses on an analysis of the forms and functions of words in the English language. A few
examples from the various classes will be used in the analyses, for illustration.

FORM AND FUNCTION

It is important to look at words in terms of just word class. This is because the same word
can perform different roles in a sentence.
(a) At five, the lady will light the fire.
(b) The light fell on the floor.
(c) This load is very light.
The preceding sentences all use the word light, but the job the word does in each sentence
is different. In the first sentence, light follows a modular auxiliary, will; in (b) it is a noun
which follows a determiner, the; while in (c) it is a predicative adjective which comes after
the copula verb, is.
Linguists analyse words in terms of both form (word class) and function(the role they play).
In so doing, linguistic analysis can be very precise- it allows the linguists to focus on the
words chosen and the results created by the different writers and speaker.
Let us look at further examples of this in the following:
(a) a costumed concert performance
(b) the award-winning dramatization of the novel
(c) one of the biggest floating book shops in the world
In all the preceding phrases, the words in italics are all verbs. In (a) and (b) the words
costumed and award-winning help to convey the nature of the event concisely; in (c) the
word floating is a verb modifier, modifying the noun book shops.
In linguistic analysis, an awareness of form and function is important because it enables
linguists to describe exactly what words are doing and how particular effects [dramatization,
in the case of the last phrase (c)] are created.
There are three key terms that describe the function of words in a phrase:
Head word (h), pre-modifier (m) and qualifier (q).
The head word is the main word, what we called a head under syntax. The pre-modifier
refers to words that come before the head word and provide more information about the
head word. Post-modifiers are words that come after the head word, that provide additional
information about the head word. Head words come in different forms. Let us look at the
following examples:
The cat caught the mouse.
She is the manager.
In the preceding examples the words in italics are both noun phrases. In the first sentence
the noun phrase is made up of a determiner (det) and a noun (N), while in the second
example it is made up just noun. As we saw in the section on phrase structure rules, in ENG
2661, a NP can be made up of just a N, a det and a N, a det, N and other elements.
NP → (det) N (complement)…, which states that a NP can be made up of a
det (optional), N (head, compulsory), complement (optional) and other
elements.
A NP can act as a subject (She/The cat), object (the mouse) or a
complement (the manager.
Adjectives as head words
An adjective can also function as a head word of a noun phrase, as in the
following:
The old often get a raw deal.
The good die young.
We can thus represent the NPs in a sentence in terms of form and function
as follows:
h h m h m h
Dogs love bones. The girls are picking the flowers.
NP NP NP NP
N N det N det N
 m m h q m m h q
The beautiful sky [of blue] rose above the glimmering sea [of green].
NP NP
det Adj N det V N prep Adj

As we saw, modifiers (m) are words which provide additional information

about the head. A modifier can come either before the head or after.
When it comes before the head, it is called a pre-modifier. A NP can
consist of one or more pre-modifiers. Examples of these among NPs are as
follows (NB. The premodifiers are the words in italics: det, N and Adj):
the senior girls
all cars
four young school girls
those boys
some students
When a modifier comes after the head, it is called a post-modifier (q). NPs can be followed
by different post-modifiers (also called qualifiers). Examples of post-modification are the
following:
(a) Prepositional phrase (PrepP)
m h q
The lady [on the phone]
NP
det N PrepP

(b) non-finite clause (NFCl), which always begins with a non-finite verb.
h q
time [to go home]
NP
N NFCl
 m h q
a man [called Joe]
NP
det N NFCl

(c) Relative clause

A relative clause (RelCl) will usually begin with a relative pronoun, as in the following
examples:
m h q m h q
The car [which hit the cow] The man [who stole it]
NP NP
det N RelCl det N RelCl

Activity 1
Read the following passage and complete the questions that follow.
The first summer’s day burst through the curtains unexpectedly. The new dawn’s sunlight
highlighted the paths of dust which lay on the ancient sea chest. The scratches paid tribute
to a life of hardship and I couldn’t help wondering about the interesting stories from the
past. The drowned men who had owned this chest could tell their own versions of events,
but I would never know them.
I turned lazily towards the wall, but I was merely met by another withered mark of the past.
This time, I was confronted by the faded rose wallpaper. The memory of another place
slowly filtered through my hazy mind, forcing me to make connections. I remembered that
first disturbing visit to the ruined cottage and its ongoing effects. The second historical link
waiting for me, unexpectedly, stirred me at last.

Analyse the following NPs from the preceding extract in terms of form and function:
(a) the wall
(b) the interesting stories from the past
(c) the faded rose wallpaper
(d) another withered mark of the past
(e) This second historical link waiting for me
ADJECTIVE/ADJECTIVAL PHRASES

An Adjective Phrase (AdjP) has an adjective as its main word. We can identify adjective phrases by
the following features.

(i) Adjectives as head words

The head word of an AdjP is an Adj. While attributive adjectives precede nouns as
premodifiers in a NP, predicative adjectives follow nouns (often after a copula verb: is, are,
were) and are the head words of AdjPs.

h Function
Example: The sky grew black

AdjP Form

As in the case of NPs, we can have both pre-modification and post-modification in AdjPs. Let us look
at some examples.

Pre-modification

m h m h m h

She is very bold It is extremely dangerous The snow is pure white

AdjP AdjP AdjP

Adv Adj Adv Adj Adj Adj

As can be seen from the preceding examples, an AdjP can be pre-modified by an Adv or another Adj.

Post-modification

Post-modification can take several forms, as follows:

(i) Prepositional phrase (PrepP): a PrepP will always begin with a Prep

h q

afraid [of ghosts]

AdjP

Adj PrepP

(ii) Non-finite infinitive clause (NFCl): a non-finite infinitive clause will always begin with an
infinitive
 h q

anxious [to please]

AdjP
Adj NFCl

(iii) Noun clauses: A Noun Clause (NCl) will always start with the pronoun that, always this may
be omitted. When it is omitted, we use the symbol ø. Examples on omission of the pronoun
that are as follows:

h q
sure [that she will come]
AdjP
Adj NCl

h q
sure [(ø) she will come]
AdjP
Adj NCl

Activity 2

Read the following passage and then list eight AdjP and analyse them in terms of function and form.
The first one has been done for you.

m h q
very glad [to meet him]
AdjP
Adv Adj NFCl

I was very glad to meet him on that winter’s day. The snow, deep and white, fell quickly, covering
the ground like a blanket. He seemed rather sad, but quite sure of his need for company. He was
very sincere about the purpose of the journey- he wanted to visit the place, isolated and very bleak
though it was, to remind himself of everything that had happened. Surprisingly fierce, he justified his
arrival, quite certain that he had made the right decision. As we walked, however, he became so
unbelievably withdrawn that I could not agree with his interpretation of events. He was unsure and
rather quiet, and was certain he wished he had not come.
VERB PHRASES

A Verb Phrase (VP) generally has a lexical verb as its main verb. It can be made up of one lexical verb,
or one more auxiliary verbs and a lexical verb. Verb phrases have the following characteristics:

(i) Lexical verbs as head words: A verb phrase may consist of one lexical verb as its head word.
An example is the following:

h
I saw the dog.
VP
V
(ii) Auxiliary verbs (aux): A VP may have up to four auxiliary verbs, and the lexical verb will
always be the last element in the phrase. Examples are as follows:

m h m m h

I have seen the dog I may have seen the dog

VP VP

aux V aux aux V

m m m h

I should have been seeing the dog

VP

aux aux aux V

m m m m h

She must have been being served at the time.

VP

aux aux aux aux V

(iii) Phrasal verbs: Some verb phrases (VPs) are made up of a verb and an adverb/particle. They
are called phrasal verbs. Examples are the following:

h h
She went off the rails They brought up the same arguments

VP VP

V Adv V Adv

Please note: some phrasal verbs can stand alone; they do not need anything to follow them.
Examples are look up, break down.

(iv) Prepositional verbs: Some VPs are made up of a V and a Prep. These are called prepositional
verbs. Prepositional verbs have to be followed by a Noun Phrase (NP), which is compulsory.
Examples are the following:

h h
I looked at the car He stood against the opponent
VP VP
V prep V prep

NB. Prepositional verbs are sometimes considered to be part of non-formal English, and can
often be replaced by a formal equivalent. For example, look at can be replaced by view;
stood against can be replaced by faced.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES (PrepP)

A prepositional phrase has a preposition as its main word. It will normally be followed by a NP.
Prepositional phrases add extra information and are therefore optional. They have the following
characteristics:

(i) Post-modification: PrepP are used to post-modify other phrases.

m h q m h q

The boys [from the villages] rather unhappy [about it]

det N PrepP Adv Adj PrepP

(ii) Adverbial (A): Prepositional phrases can function as adverbials in a sentence, providing some
information about time, manner and place. Examples are as follows:

A A A

We went [to town] [in the afternoon] We swam [in the pool]

PrepP PrepP PrepP

 Prep NP Prep NP

ADVERB PHRASES

An Adverb Phrase (AdvP) has an adverb (Adv) as its main word. AdvPs have the following general
characteristics:

(i) Adverbs as head words, with or without a modifier: the head of an AdvP is an adverb. The
modifier of in AdvP is an Adv. Examples are the following:

h m h
The child cried hysterically The crowd jostled very impatiently
AdvP AdvP
Adv Adv Adv

(ii) Adverbials: AdvPs can function as adverbials in a sentence, providing information about
time, manner and place. Examples follow.

A A

We visited Pretoria recently They go fishing [quite regularly]

AdvP AdvP

Adv Adv Adv

CLAUSES

Clauses are the main structures used to compose sentences. A sentence is therefore made up of at
least one Main Clause (a clause that makes sense on its own and that is not dependent on or part of
another clause); it may also contain one or more Subordinate Clause(s) (a clause that cannot stand
on its own and that is dependent on the main clause).

The other thing about clauses is that they may be finite (containing a verb marked for tense, number
and person); non-finite (containing a present participle, a past participle or an infinitive); or verbless
(containing no verb).

Examples:

Finite clause: The students arrived late.

Non-finite clause: (Arriving late), the students crowded around the door.

Verbless clause: (Well, I never)!

PROCESSES, PARTICIPANTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES

An alternative way used to analyse sentences in English is through dividing each phrase into what
are known as Processes, Participants and Circumstances. The Process is used as a term to represent
events, whether they are physical (actional), such as eat, jump or work; or mental, such as believe,
and be (is, seem). Processes can also be verbal, such as said, stated, claimed, sang and asserted. The
Process therefore represents our Predicate (doing word). Participant is a term used to describe a
Subject (S), Direct Object (Od) or Indirect Object (Oi).

Therefore, a sentence may contain more than one Participant. Finally, In addition, a sentence
include information about time (when: today, yesterday and this morning), place (where: in the
house, across the road, on Mondays; and how (slowly, angrily, cheerfully. These are known as
Circumstances. In the previous order, we called these PrepPs, AdvPs or Advs. As we know, a
sentence can be made up of more than one of these, meaning more than one Circumstance.

Let us look at some examples

The sentence, The bakery delivered the bread, could be analysed as follows:

Participant 1 Process Participant 2

The bakery delivered the bread

We can clearly see that the sentence has two Participants and one Process, but no Circumstance.
The type of Process (V) is actional.

Let us look at a further example

The sentence, The girl was singing beautifully, would be analysed as follows:

Participant Process Circumstances

The girl was singing beautifully

In other words, the sentence is made up of one Participant, one Process and one Circumstance. The
type of Process here is not actional here, but verbal. Please note that a Process can be just a V or a
VP. In the preceding example it is a VP (was singing). The Process, therefore, could have also been
(may have been singing); that is,
 Participant Process Circumstances
The girl may have been singing beautifully

We also mentioned that we can have two Circumstances in a sentence. An example would be the
following:

In the morning, my mom drove to the store.

The sentence would be analysed as follows:

Circumstance 1 Participant Process Circumstance 2

In the morning my mom Drove to the store

The type of Process here is actional. Circumstances may also take the form of a Phrase or Clause; for
example, Once upon a time, In the beginning, etc.

Examples

In the beginning, the weird old lady worked in the laboratory.

Once upon a time, a monster lived near a village.

The two sentences would be analysed as follows:

Circumstance 1 Participant Process Circumstance 2

In the beginning the weird old lady worked in the laboratory

Once upon a time a monster lived near a village

Please note that the Processes are not the same: worked is an actional Process, while lived is a
mental Process.