This web page is intended for students who are following GCE Advanced level (AS and A2) specifications in English Language. This resource may also be of general interest to language students on university degree courses, trainee teachers and anyone with a general interest in language science. It contains a basic guide to the structure of the English language.

Please note that I have not set down prescriptive rules which must be obeyed. I have described language, using both traditional terms and some of the categories and descriptions of modern grammar. English is not “derived” from Latin (whatever Prince Charles thinks) but has a Germanic origin, although much of our lexicon comes from French and the classical languages of Greek and Latin. None of this classical lexis was found in Old English, of course - it has entered English from the Renaissance onwards, most of it in comparatively modern times, thanks to its extensive use in science.

Some of the language categories of traditional grammar have more coherence than others. Nouns and verbs are fairly coherent, while adverbs (or all the words classed by lexicographers as such) are certainly not.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the guide, please contact me.

Back to top

We can study the structure of language in a variety of ways. For example, we can study

• classes of words (parts of speech),
• meanings of words (semantics), with or without considering changes of meaning,
• how words are organised in relation to each other (syntax),
• how words are formed (morphology),
• the sounds of words (phonology) and
• how written forms represent these (lexicography).

There is no universally accepted model for doing this, but some models use the notion of a hierarchy, and this may prove fruitful for you. The framework (description of structure) you will study here is written to be comprehensive yet succinct. Elsewhere, in studying language theory, you will focus on a selective area, and investigate this in more detail.

The most basic units of meaning are simple words (e.g.: dog, yes and swim) or the elements of complex words (e.g.: un- -happi- and -ness in unhappiness). These basic elements are called morphemes, and the study of how they are combined in words is morphology.

The study of how words are organised into phrases, clauses and sentences is usually referred to as syntax.

A longer stretch of language is known as discourse, the study of its structure as discourse analysis.

This hierarchy is partly explained by the table below, from David Crystal's The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. The right hand column should be read upwards, in the direction of the arrow.

Back to top

Outline structure of English
sentences are analysed into clauses are analysed into phrases are analysed into words are analysed into morphemes	↓ ↑	sentences are used to build clauses are used to build phrases are used to build words are used to build morphemes

Back to top

The following table shows a three-part model of the structure of English.

Three-part model of English
Morphology	Syntax	Discourse
morphemes ↓ words	phrases ↓ clauses ↓ sentences	relationships between sentences in longer stretches of language

Back to top

This is the study of the structure of words. The name comes from Greek morphos (=shape or form). The smallest units of meaning may be whole simple words (e.g. man, run, big) or parts of complex words (e.g. un-, -faith- and -ful in unfaithful) which are called morphemes.

Some morphemes, such as faith in un-faith-ful or dream in dream-ing can stand alone as words which make sense. These are known as free morphemes. You will see how very many simple words are free morphemes, but can combine with other morphemes, both free and bound (see below) to form complex words.

Where two simple words are joined together to form a new complete word, this is called a compound word. Examples include teapot, starlight and careworn. When these terms are first coined, they are shown in some dictionaries with a hyphen, as light-house or fish-finger.

Back to top

Other morphemes, such as prefixes and suffixes (collectively called affixes), cannot stand alone - they need to be part of a complex word to make sense. Examples are dis- in dis-miss, dis-pute or dis-grace, -ing in dream-ing, -ness in happi-ness or sad-ness and even -s used to form plurals, as in boy-s or horse-s. These morphemes are said to be bound morphemes.

Inflection and derivation

Bound morphemes are traditionally divided into two further classes. Sometimes a word is changed in its form to show the internal grammar of a sentence (&#quot;agreement&#quot;). Examples would be plural forms of nouns (dog + s → dog-s) or past (imperfect) tenses of regular verbs (want + ed → want-ed). The study of such changes is inflectional morphology (because the words in question are inflected - altered by adding a suffix).

Back to top

Other compound or complex words are made by adding together elements without reference to the internal grammar of a sentence. For example, the verb infect suggests a new verb disinfect (=to undo the action of infecting). New words are often formed by noun + -ize, noun + ism, or verb + able (scandalize, Stalinism, disposable). The study of such words, "derived" from existing words or morphemes is derivational morphology. The elements of which the word is made may have a grammatical relationship within the word (you may find this idea difficult), but their formation is independent of the syntax of the clause or sentence in which they occur. If you find this puzzling, two things may help:

• Inflectional morphology is much easier to recognize. A relatively small number of types of inflection (showing number or tense, say) covers most cases.
• All compound and most complex words show derivational morphology. If a complex word does not show inflection it will show derivation.

But note: a complex word may show both inflection and derivation! A derived word may be inflected to show, for example, tense or number: deported or disposables (as in nappies or diapers).

This table shows how the most common kinds of inflection are found in three word classes:

Inflection of nouns, verbs and qualifiers
Nouns	Verbs	Adjectives and adverbs
Addition of terminal s to show plural (one cat; two cats); Addition of 's to show possession (Henry's cat).	Ending shows tense (wanted) or person ([she] wants).	Addition of -er → comparative (hotter; likelier); Addition of -est → superlative (coldest; soonest).

Back to top

This table illustrates how derivation can occur:

Derivational morphology in complex words
Prefix	Base of Word	Suffix	Complex Word
Bi	cycl(e)	ing	Bicycling
Dis	grace	ful	Disgraceful
In	tolera(te)	able	Intolerable
Re	vision	ist	Revisionist
Un, co	operat(e)	ive, ly	Uncooperatively
Un	likely (y becomes i)	hood	Unlikelihood

Back to top

Remember that morphology is the study of the structure of words. The structure of words can also be studied to show how the meaning of a given morpheme, or its relation to the rest of the word, varies from one complex word to another. Consider how sun works in the following words: sunbeam, sunburnt, sundial, sunflower, sunglasses, sunlight, sunrise, sun-spot (scientific sense), sun-spot (tourist sense), suntan.

Inflection does not really yield “new” words, but alters the form of existing ones for specific reasons of grammar. Derivation, on the other hand, does lead to the creation of new words. David Crystal (Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language; p. 90) lists four normal processes of word-formation, of which three are examples of derivation:

Back to top

Four kinds of word-formation
Prefixation (derivational)	Suffixation (derivational)	Compounding (derivational)	Conversion (not derivational)
Affix placed before base of word, e.g. disobey	Affix placed after base of word, e.g. kindness	Two base forms are added together, e.g. blackbird	Word changes class, without any change of form, e.g. (the) pet (n) becomes (to) pet (vb.)

Back to top

Words considered as wholes can be categorized according to how they work within phrases, clauses or sentences. These categories, traditionally called parts of speech are now more usually known as word classes. Parts of speech are labels for categories in which words are usually placed. But in a given sentence a word from one category may behave as if it were in another. A dictionary will only record established or standard usage.

The traditional parts of speech were of eight kinds, excluding the two articles (a/an, the). These were nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs, and interjections. Modern linguists prefer to list words in classes that are coherent - all the words in them should behave in the same way. But if this principle were applied rigidly, we would have hundreds of classes, so irregularities are tolerated!

Back to top

Closed and open word classes

Table of closed word classes | table of open word classes

Some classes of words are called closed because they contain a relatively small number of items to which no new words can normally be added. These are words (prepositions and conjunctions) which make connections (connectives or connectors), pronouns and words (including articles) like the, some, each that co-occur with nouns - these are called determiners.

Other classes of word are constantly being added to. Each contains a vast number of terms already. They are open to new words being introduced. The open classes are nouns, verbs and the words which qualify them, adjectives and adverbs. These form the bulk of a language's vocabulary or lexis (also lexicon, though this sometimes refers to a published version). These classes may be called lexical whereas the closed-class words are structural or functional. These tables illustrate the two kinds of word class.

Back to top

Closed word classes
Determiner	Pronoun	Preposition	Conjunction
A, the, any, my, those, which	She, them, who, that, himself	In, across, at, by, near, within	And, but, if, or, while, unless

Back to top

Open word classes
Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb
Abstract: fear, joy Concrete: chair, mud Common: boy, town Proper: Fred, Hull	Transitive: bite, steal Intransitive: live, cry Modal: can, will, may Auxiliary: be, have, do	Descriptive: lazy, tall Comparative: lazier Superlative: tallest	Manner: reluctantly, keenly, easily, softly Time: soon, often Place: here, there

Back to top

Problems of classification

Some words are difficult to classify. Not all grammatical descriptions will place them in the same word class. This, these or those are sometimes classified as demonstrative (or distinctive) adjectives or pronouns. Possessives, like my, his, their, are sometimes classified as pronouns (showing the word from which they are formed), sometimes as adjectives, showing their grammatical function of qualifying nouns: usually they are pronouns when alone (I like that) and adjectives when they precede a noun (I like this weather). Traditional lists of adverbs contain words like very which qualify other adverbs or adjectives. This word class is sometimes called a "dustbin" class, because any word which defies classification will be put in it! Among words which have sometimes been classified as adverbs are the following: however, just, no, not, quickly, tomorrow and when.

This incoherence has long been recognized by grammarians who subdivide adverbs into further categories, such as adverbs of time, place or manner.

In trying to organize words into coherent classes, linguists will consider any or all of the following: what they mean (semantics), their form (morphology), provenance (historical origin) and function in a phrase, clause or sentence (syntax).

Back to top

Some words, such as numbers, do not fit in any of the word classes given above. They can behave as adjectives (one loaf or two?) or pronouns (I want one now!). And no one description of word classes is regarded as finally authoritative. Some classes (such as verbs or conjunctions) are fairly coherent. You should be able to discuss the problems of how or where to classify words which seem not to "fit".

Also note that a dictionary does not (or should not) prescribe, but indicates the word class or part of speech where a word is usually placed. But in a given sentence, if the speaker or writer has used it as if it were in a different class, then this is where it should be placed.

For example, toilet is usually classified as a noun. But UK primary school teachers often speak of toileting children (I had to toilet John twice today). In describing such a sentence, you should be guided by the internal grammar of the sentence (syntax) rather than the dictionary. Here toilet is a transitive verb. If this usage becomes standard, lexicographers will record it. This kind of word formation is called conversion, a self-explanatory name.

Back to top

Every statement is a combination of words, and every statement says something to communicate information. The simplest possible kind of statement - for example, Dogs bark - has two kinds of words in it. It has a what word, dogs, and a what happens word, bark. These kinds of words are the most basic parts of any statement. If a person only says dog, no statement is made, and no information is conveyed. A sound is made that calls to mind a common, four-footed animal, but nothing regarding it is learned.

The what words are called nouns. They tell what is being talked about. They are identifying words, or names. Nouns identify persons, places, or things. They may be particular persons, places, or things: Michael Jackson, Reykjavik, World Trade Center. Or they may be general nouns: singer, town, building. Concrete nouns indicate things that can be seen such as car, teapot, and potato. Abstract nouns denote concepts such as love, honesty,and beauty.

It is rather odd that English grammar should retain this abstract-concrete distinction for nouns. It appears to be a survival from the philosopher Plato, who divided the world into mind and matter. If it has any value it is in the philosophical field of epistemology (theory of knowledge). It does not really reveal anything for linguists beyond itself. That is, we can, if we wish, try to place nouns in the sub-categories of concrete and abstract, but once we have done so, this categorization has no further value for the study of language. Moreover, modern science confuses the issue, since it shows that many things we once supposed to belong to mind, are in fact, embodied in matter. A thrill is not only abstract, since it involves matter at the level of biochemistry.

Back to top

The what happens words are called verbs. They are the action words in a statement. Without them it is impossible to put sentences together. It is the verb that says something about the noun: dogs bark, birds fly, fish swim. Verbs are the important words that create information in statements. Although nouns alone make no statement, verbs can occasionally do so. Help! gives the information that someone is in trouble, and Go away! tells someone or something emphatically to leave.

Besides nouns and verbs there are other kinds of words that have different functions in statements. They are pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, articles, prepositions, and a very few words that can be called function words because they fit into none of the other categories. All of these kinds of words together are called parts of speech. They can just as well be called parts of writing because they apply to written as well as to spoken language.

Back to top

Nouns and articles

Nouns can be particular or general: the house, a house. The words the and a are articles, or, in more technical terms, determiners. A house can be any house, but the house is a quite definite building. When a noun begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, and, occasionally, y) the indefinite article a becomes an for the sake of easier pronunciation - an apple, an elephant, an orange. Sometimes an is used before words that start with h, especially if the h is silent: an honorary degree. If the h is sounded a is the standard form: an 'otel, a hotel.

Nouns can be singular or plural in number: cat, cats.

• In some cases es is added to make nouns plural: dress, dresses.
• Some nouns change their forms in the plural, without adding an s but by changing or mutating a vowel: foot, feet; man, men; mouse, mice; goose, geese.
• Some nouns do not change at all in the plural: sheep, fowl.

There are also group nouns, called noun phrases. This means that two or more nouns, or a noun and an adjective, are put together to form what amounts to, or works like, one noun: football stadium, rock concert, orange tree. In each case certain nouns - football, rock, orange - are attached to other nouns, and each modifies or describes the second noun in some way to convey a different kind of object. A football and a football stadium are two entirely different things, though they both have to do with the same game.

Some nouns are one-of-a-kind names: Suez Canal, Elvis Presley, Empire State Building. Also called proper nouns, they are capitalized to set them off from general nouns. Sometimes adjectives (words that describe nouns) are also capitalized. This normally happens when the adjective is made from a proper noun, especially a place or person: American literature, English countryside, Elizabethan theatre.

Back to top

Proper nouns are contrasted with common nouns (naming words for general classes of things which contain many individual examples). In fact many of the nouns that we consider proper are still names for more than one individual, as with the name of a model of car (like Ford Escort or VW Beetle, which might have been produced in the millions). Like the abstract-concrete distinction, the common-proper categories may originate in Platonic philosophy, which contrasted the many things in the real world with unique ideal originals of which they are imperfect copies. It is of more practical concern, since it is meant to inform the written representations of words (whether or not to use an initial capital). Unlike German (which uses a capital for all nouns) or Norwegian (which never does), English has a mixed and inconsistent system which changes over time, and which is confused by the individual tendencies of writers. One problem is that a descriptive phrase (like the second world war) can become petrified into a title, so that we write Second World War or World War Two. And Queen Juliana is or was the queen of the Netherlands, but Queen Elizabeth II is, to many of her subjects, simply the Queen, or even The Queen. In these cases, the "correct" forms are not universally standard for all writers of English, but more a matter of publishers' house styles.

Many introductions to English grammar for schoolchildren are to blame for presenting this common-proper distinction as if it were very straightforward - by referring only to well-behaved kinds of proper noun, such as personal names or the names of cities, rivers and planets. In such introductions the distinction is introduced chiefly to lead onto instruction about the use of capital letters in writing such nouns.

Nouns are used in different ways: The dog barks. The man bit the dog. In the first case, dog is the actor, or the one that initiates the action of the verb. In the second, dog is acted upon. In The dog barks, dog is the subject of the verb. In the other sentence, dog is the object of the verb.

Sometimes a noun is the indirect object of a verb: He gave the dog a bone. Bone is the direct object; it is what was given. Because it was given to the dog, dog is considered the indirect object of the action.

Back to top

Nouns can also be objects of prepositions - words like to, in, for, and by - so the above sentence could read: He gave a bone to the dog. The words to the dog are called a prepositional phrase.

Some verb forms take nouns as objects: Drinking milk is good for you. In this sentence, milk is the object of the verbal form drinking. Such a combination of verb and noun is called a verbal phrase.

Nouns can show possession: The dog's collar is on the table. The collar is possessed, or owned, by the dog. All possession does not indicate ownership, however. In The building's roof is black, the roof is on, but not owned by, the building. Adding an apostrophe and an s to a noun shows possession ('): the cat's tongue, the woman's purse. If the noun is plural or already has an s, then often only an apostrophe need be added: the mothers' union (that is, a union of many mothers). The word of may also be used to show possession: the top of the house, the light of the candle, the Duke of Wellington.

Back to top

Pronouns

Personal pronouns | Demonstrative pronouns | Indefinite pronouns | Relative and interrogative pronouns

There are several words that are used to replace nouns. They are called pronouns. Pro in Greek means "for" or "in place of".

Personal pronouns

Some pronouns are called personal pronouns because they take the place of specific names of persons, places, or thing, as in: Has Fred arrived? Yes, he is here. Here he is the personal pronoun that replaces Fred. As indicated in the table, there are both subject and object personal pronouns as well as those that show possession. In His house is the white and green one, his is a personal possessive pronoun.

Personal pronouns: subjects, objects and possessives
Singular	Subject	Object	Possessive
First person	I	me	my, mine
Second person	you	you	your, yours
Third person	he, she, it (one)	him, her, it (one)	his, her, hers, its (one's)
Plural	Subject	Object	Possessive
First person	we	us	our, ours
Second person	you	you	your, yours
Third person	they	them	their, theirs*

Back to top

*Some authorities give my, your, his, her, our, your and their as possessive adjectives or pronominal adjectives, as they qualify nouns.

Some personal pronouns are formed by the addition of -self or -selves as a suffix: myself, ourselves, yourself, himself, herself, itself, and themselves.

Demonstrative pronouns

Some pronouns - this, that, these, those - refer to particular people or things: This is mine, and that is yours. These are demonstrative pronouns. The demonstrative words can also be used as adjectives: this house, those cars.

Indefinite pronouns

Pronouns that refer to people or things in general are called indefinite pronouns. Like the demonstrative pronouns, they can be used as adjectives: another day, both animals, many weeks.

Relative and interrogative pronouns

The words who, whose, whom, that, which, and what are called relative pronouns. (The word that can be a demonstrative or a relative pronoun.) They create relative clauses in a sentence: The committee, which met last night, discussed your report. The words which met last night form a relative clause that describes the subject of the main clause, the committee.

Sometimes a relative pronoun is used as the subject of a question such as Who ate the pizza? Here it is classed as an interrogative pronoun. Interrogate means "ask" (questions).

Verbs

Verbs are the action words in a statement. They tell what is happening - what a noun is doing or what is being done to it, or the state of being, becoming, thinking or feeling. A verb with a subject, which will be in a particular tense is a finite verb. Without a subject it will be the infinitive form (for example, to think, to dream) or a gerund (the present participle, used as a noun: smoking is bad for you).

When a verb denotes what a noun is doing, the noun is said to be the subject of the verb: The man speaks. When the verb denotes what is being done to a noun, the noun is the object of the verb: The man eats jelly. The noun jelly is the direct object of the verb. Verbs can also take indirect objects: Parents give children toys. In this sentence, toys is the direct object, (what is given) and children is the indirect object. The parents do not give children but toys.

Verbs that take objects are called transitive verbs, and those that normally do not take an object are intransitive verbs (but note that an intransitive verb may be used transitively in non-standard speech or writing). Some common transitive verbs are: tell, give, show, eat, buy, take, and see. Some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive: Tell a story (transitive), andTime will tell (intransitive). Verbs like sleep, walk, rest, come, and go are nearly always intransitive. The most common verb of all, to be, is intransitive in all of its forms: am, are, is, was, were, and been.

Tenses (time signals): Verb tenses tell the time when an action takes place. Any action or condition may be in the past, present, or future: he was, he is, he will be. Most common verbs simply add an -ed to show the past time, or form the past tense, as it is normally called. Thus walk becomes walked. Other verbs, sometimes called irregular (or strong) verbs, do not add -ed. Instead they undergo an internal change: sing, sang, sung; fly, flew, flown; go, went, gone.

Auxiliary verbs: In the sentence She will sing even though he cannot stay, the verbs will and cannot are called auxiliary, or helper, verbs. Other auxiliary verbs are the incomplete or modal verbs: can, could, may, might, shall, should, and would.

The various forms of the verb to be can also be used as auxiliaries: I am going. He was singing. They have been shopping. The verb have - and its other forms has and had - are also common auxiliaries to indicate past action.

Participles: The verb form used with auxiliaries is the participle. There is a present participle, talking, and a past participle, talked. Thus, a person can say either I talk (present tense) or I am talking (present continuous) to show present action and I talked (imperfect), I have talked (perfect), or I had talked (pluperfect) to show past action. When a present participle is used with an auxiliary verb, the purpose is to show continuing or ongoing action. She is doing the laundry. He was speaking when someone interrupted him. Note that this uses a present participle with a past tense auxiliary verb (was) to indicate continuous past action.

Verb flexibility: Verbs and verb forms can be used in a number of ways in sentences. A verb can be the subject of a statement (To walk is good exercise) or its object (I like to walk). In each case, the infinitive form to walk is used as a noun. Participles can be used in the same way: He likes swimming. Flying is great sport. In the first sentence, swimming is the object of the verb, and in the second, flying is the subject.

Verb forms can also be used as adjectives, or words that describe nouns. In a wrecked car, the word wrecked is a past participle used as an adjective.

Occasionally a verb form or verb phrase can be used as an adverb: He was pleased to meet her. The phrase to meet her modifies the adjective pleased.

Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs are descriptive words, sometimes called modifiers because they restrict meaning. They add detail to statements. The difference between the two is that adjectives modify only nouns, pronouns, and verb forms used as nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Back to top

Adjective function: An adjective may be a single word: blue, tall, funny, warm. As a single word, it may come before the noun - the blue sky - or after the verb - the sky is blue. Adjectives may be positive (tall), comparative (taller) or superlative (tallest). Adjective phrases usually follow the noun they describe: the girl with blond hair. The phrase with blond hair describes girl. Adjective clauses also usually follow the noun: The child who finds the most Easter eggs wins. The clause who finds the most Easter eggs modifies child.

Adverb function:The most common use of an adverb, of course, is to describe verbs: He ran quickly. Actually, however, adverbs can modify anything but nouns or verb forms used as nouns. Typically adverbs express:

• time (now, then)
• manner (happily, easily)
• degree (less, more, very)
• direction and place (there, up, down)
• affirmation or negation (certainly, not)
• cause and result (thus, consequently), and
• qualification or doubt (however, probably).

Back to top

Although many adverbs are formed by adding -ly to adjectives (quick, quickly; happy, happily), adverbs have no characteristic form. They must be identified by the function they perform in a sentence. In the sentence That is a fast car, fast is an adjective. But in He ran fast, it is an adverb.

Certain adverbs (how, when, where, why, whenever, and wherever) are called relative adverbs because they introduce relative clauses in a sentence: The keys are upstairs where you left them. The clause where you left them modifies the adverb upstairs.

Other adverbs are called conjunctive adverbs because they join one clause with another. Some of these adverbs are: therefore, accordingly, besides, furthermore, instead, meanwhile, and nevertheless.In the sentence He was tired; therefore he stayed home, the word therefore modifies the clause of which it is a part and connects that clause to the previous part of the sentence. Note that therefore is not to be used as a conjunction, hence the semi-colon.

Back to top

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are joining words: they connect words, phrases, or entire clauses. There are two general kinds of conjunctive words: coordinate and subordinate.

Coordinate conjunctions join elements that are grammatically the same: two or more words, two equivalent phrases, or two equivalent clauses. The most common coordinate conjunctions are: and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet.

• Red and white (two equal words joined in a phrase).
• Taking walks and looking at nature (two equal phrases in a relative clause).
• She ran to the corner, but she missed the bus (two equal clauses in a complete sentence).

A correlative conjunction is a special kind of coordinate conjunction. It connects equivalent elements, but it works in pairs of words: both, and; either, or; neither, nor; whether, or; not only, but also.

• He wants both money and power.
• Neither money nor power matters.
• Either she will go, or she will stay.

Back to top

Subordinate conjunctions. While coordinate conjunctions connect equal grammatical elements, subordinate conjunctions introduce dependent or conditional clauses.

• Although she has money, she buys few luxuries.
• Because he was late, he missed the train.
• After the movie is over, we shall have dinner.

Other word uses. Words that operate as conjunctions can often be used in other ways: as adverbs, prepositions, adjectives, or even pronouns.

• We have met before (before is an adverb).
• Before they leave, let us have dinner (before is a conjunction).

Back to top

There are other words besides conjunctions that serve as connectors (or connectives) in sentences. The relative pronouns who and which are often so used.

• That is the man who was speaking to her.
• The dessert is strawberries, which give him a rash.

Some of the conjunctions work both as adverbs and conjunctions in the same sentence. This is often true of consequently, however, therefore, and nevertheless.

• He was ill; nevertheless he went to work.
• She disliked work; consequently she lost her job.

Note the semi-colon (;). This is standard here but is non-standard before but or and. (This appears to be changing, as speakers and writers treat words like nevertheless as conjunctions.)

It is possible to make clauses with conjunctions into separate sentences, especially when writing for literary effect.

• He did it. And he was glad.
• Stay away from here. Unless you want trouble.

In the second case the clause is so obviously dependent that it would not stand alone as a sentence and make sense. It can only be written that way for emphasis or some other effect.

Back to top

Prepositions

Prepositions are words or groups of words, that introduce phrases; and these phrases modify some element in a sentence. What follows a preposition is normally a noun, pronoun, or noun clause. A word that follows a preposition is its object, and, in the case of pronouns especially, this affects the form of the word.

• He walked near her (never He walked near she).
• He gave them to her and me (never He gave them to she and I or He gave them to her and I).

One of the problems in spotting prepositions in a sentence is that many of the words that are usually prepositions can also be used as adverbs.

• He never saw them before (here before is an adverb).
• They sat before the counter (before is a preposition,and the whole prepositional phrase serves as an adverb, modifying sat).

Back to top

Parts of speech: a summary

Noun: A noun is a name for someone or something. It can be someone or something in particular, or someone or something in general. Pronoun: A pronoun is a substitute for a noun or a noun phrase. Verb: A verb is the action word in a statement. Some verbs link the subject to a noun, pronoun, or adjective. Adjective: An adjective is a modifier. Usually it modifies, or makes more exact, the meaning of a noun or pronoun. Adverb: An adverb is a modifier. Usually it modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Conjunction: A conjunction is a connector. A coordinate conjunction connects words or groups of words that are grammatically the same. A subordinate conjunction connects a subordinate, or dependent, clause to a main clause. Preposition: A preposition is a connector that introduces a prepositional phrase. It usually connects a noun or noun phrase to the part of the sentence modified by the whole prepositional phrase, and it shows the relation between the two.

Back to top

Modern language scientists have devised other categories of word in relation to syntax, which you should know. A few of these are explained in the table below.

Back to top

Parts of speech, or word categories, indicate what words usually do, or may be expected to do. Some of these categories - such as nouns and pronouns - make sense when we consider words in isolation. Others - such as conjunctions or prepositions - only make sense within a longer structure, a phrase, clause or sentence.

Note that these three terms are traditional, and do not easily describe how strings of language work. All are broad categories. The sentence, especially, is much more characteristic of written than of spoken English, and of formal rather than informal usage. Alternatively, we may say that spoken English contains sentence types not usually found in writing.

The internal grammar of phrases, clauses and sentences refers to the principles (sometimes mistakenly called “rules”) of structure and organization. Be aware of the tension between model structures devised for textbooks and guides for learners of the language, and the syntax of real sentences (those you have found in speech or writing), which you are subjecting to analysis.

Back to top

A phrase is a useful all-purpose name for any short sequence of words (or even a single word, considered as an element in the structure of a clause or sentence), especially a grouping which could be replaced by a single word. A phrase which works like, or equates to, a noun is a noun phrase, one which qualifies a verb is an adverb phrase and so on.

A clause may be short or long, but must contain at least one main, finite verb. A short clause may in fact be identical with a verb phrase: the two terms reflect differences of emphasis or analysis in regard to the language string in question. If you are analysing a sentence, you will look first for clauses; if you wish to see how words have been combined in simple sequences, you will look for phrases. Phrases are especially important for analysing spoken data, and some kinds of written text (such as advertisements or information leaflets) where (written) sentence forms are not considered essential.

Back to top

Noun phrases | Adjective phrases | Adverb phrases | Pronoun phrases | Prepositional phrases | Verb phrases

Noun phrases

The noun phrase (NP) is the main construction which can be the object, subject or complement of a clause. It must contain a noun or noun-like word (such as a pronoun) which is the main element, and which is called the head. It may contain other elements, either before or after the head. These could include predeterminers, determiners, postdeterminers, premodifiers and postmodifiers. The examples in the table below show how noun phrases can grow in length, while their structure remains fairly clear.

Back to top

Adjective phrases

These are usually formed from an intensifier, followed by the head (an adjective, shown in bold below). Examples include very happy, not too awkward, and cold enough. They may also be formed from an adjective and a verb construction, such as easy to please, loath to do it.

Back to top

Adverb phrases

These are intensifying expressions formed from an intensifier (optional), followed by the head (an adverb, shown in bold below), followed by a postmodifier (optional). Examples would be: terribly slowly, very happily indeed, exceptionally carefully, completely utterly dangerously, quite often and very soon.

Back to top

Prepositional phrases (adverbials/adjectivals)

These are formed from the head (a preposition, shown in bold in the examples), followed by a noun phrase. Examples of prepositional phrases are in the teapot, on the bog, and round the bend.

• They may be called adverbials since their usual function is to qualify a verb in the same way as an adverb does. You can test this by replacing a given prepositional phrase with an adverb - for example: Fred swam in the river and Fred swam swiftly. Both of these are grammatically standard forms.
• They may also function as adjectives: the pirate with the wooden leg.

Back to top

Pronoun phrases

These are restricted to a small number of constructions, and are sometimes regarded as a minor type of noun phrase. They are formed from a head (a pronoun, shown in bold below) with a pre- or postmodifier. Examples would be: Silly me! You there! she herself, we all, nearly everyone, and such relative clause types as those who knew Fred.

Back to top

Verb phrases

These are quite simple syntactically, although the verb in them may contain important grammatical information, such as tense, number, active or passive voice and so on. (All of these are explained above in the section on word categories). One or more auxiliaries may precede the head (a verb participle, shown in bold below). Examples would be: has died, may have gone, might have been listening. You may be puzzled by the simplicity of these models. Don't be. In order to explain the more complex function of verbs in the predicates of sentences (what they say about their subject), we use the structural model of the clause.

Back to top

In the syntax of English and other modern European languages, such as Dutch, French, German or Italian, the two most important structures are almost certainly clauses and sentences. Please note that:

• the sentence as we know it, is not found in all languages
• the sentence is not a necessary structure in natural language
• many written texts and most spoken data are not organized into regular sentence forms

Back to top

Before you look at descriptions of either structure, you may wonder why they appear together in the heading above. This is because neither makes sense without the other. Writers of language textbooks may put either of them ahead of the other, depending upon whether their structural model builds (or synthesises) smaller structures into larger ones (“bottom up”) or analyses larger structures into smaller ones (“top down”). This is explained at the start of this guide, and briefly again below, under the heading Building or analysing? This guide places clauses before sentences, in keeping with its "bottom up" or synthetic approach. You should try to explain the subject with both synthetic and analytic models.

Back to top

We can understand a clause in several ways. Simply it can be seen as a verb and the words or phrases which cluster round it. Professor Crystal (The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, p. 449) describes it as "a structural unit smaller than a sentence but larger than phrases or words". The problem here is that in some cases a clause may appear identical with a sentence or phrase, but the term we use tells us about a different structural feature. A more difficult explanation to follow is that a clause is a syntactic unit consisting of a verb, together with its associated subject, objects or complements and adverbials. Note that the only obligatory ("must have") elements are the subject and the verb (usually, but not always, in this order). So before you can go further, you need to know about these different clause elements (parts of the clause).

Back to top

Clauses and clauses

You may have met the term clause in other contexts - it is used to identify short passages within longer ones (such as paragraphs) in such texts as legal or parliamentary documents. The writers of these will often construct artificial sentences which are broken into a series of clauses, so that these can be named. This allows us to write such things as "Paragraph x , clause y of the Sale of Goods Act, 1979 protects consumers." Here clause identifies the unit of syntax (and its meaning or semantic content) but may not in every case exactly match the models explained here or in grammatical reference works.

Back to top

Clause elements

Subject | Object | Verb | Complement | Adverbial | Vocatives

These are well worth learning about, as you will certainly want to use them to explain the syntax of language data you are studying in exams or investigations. If you are not able to describe or identify clause types, it is usually acceptable and always helpful to consider how these elements work together. You may use them to explain how sentences work, also. They are:

• subject (S), object (O), verb (V), complement (C), adverbial (A)

Back to top

Subject

• The subject is a noun or noun phrase, pronoun or subordinate clause.
• The dog was sick. Fred felt funny. (n)
• Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. (NP)
• I am happy. They are jealous. (pn.)
• What she said is untrue. (sub.clause)
• In this kind of analysis a series of noun phrases is a single clause element.
• Pronouns used as subject are in the subject case (I, she, they not me, her, them)
• The subject controls singular-plural verb agreement (You go; she goes) and agreement of reflexive pronoun objects (I injured myself; they amused themselves)
• A subject is usually present in a clause, but it may be omitted in non-standard (especially spoken) structures (Drinks like a fish. Gets here when?) or imperatives (Listen to this).

Back to top

Object

• Objects usually follow the verb. They may be direct or indirect.
• Direct object: Fred bit his thumb. The chimpanzees groomed each other.
• Indirect object: Jane gave the gorilla a kiss. Jane gave a kiss to the gorilla. (Note that here there is also a direct object = a kiss)
• Just as with subjects, they may be nouns, noun phrases, pronouns or subordinate clauses.
• Just as subjects are, pronouns are in the appropriate (object) case (me, her, them).
• As above, reflexive pronoun objects agree with their subjects (They amused themselves).
• But unlike subject, the object has no effect on agreement of verb.

Back to top

Verb

• This is the central and obligatory element. A clause must contain at least one verb phrase, which may be a single verb: Jesus wept. They are drowning. The cow jumped over the moon.
• The choice of verb will largely determine what other elements are in the clause.
• The verb usually has a subject. A transitive verb is one which takes a direct object. (Strictly this is a tautology since transitive = "taking a direct object")

Back to top

Complement

• Complement (verb) means "go with". (Do not confuse with compliment). In clause syntax, the complement is anything which adds to the meaning of the subject (subject complement) or object (object complement).
• Subject complement usually follows the verb. The most common verb for a subject complement is the verb to be, but some other verb may be substituted where the meaning of be is expressed. These are called copular (= linking) verbs or simply copulas. In the examples complements are in bold, copular verbs underlined: She is a doctor. That smells heavenly. The students are feeling dazed and confused.
• Object complement usually follows the direct object: Football makes me very happy. The voters elected Clinton president of the USA.

Back to top

Adverbials

• These clause elements add to or complete the meaning of the verb element. They may be single adverbs. But they also include nouns, noun or verb phrases and subordinate clauses: They ran quickly. He went home twice nightly. We walked on the playground. My girlfriend phoned me this morning. I was happy when I saw her again.
• Adverbials may appear in several positions in the clause, but are most common at the end: Often I dream. I often dream. I dream often.
• Adverbials may perform different functions:
• Adding information: I walked quietly.
• Linking clauses: The bus was full. However, Fred found a seat.
• Adding a comment on what is expressed: Quite frankly we disapprove of violence.
• Some verbs (like put) must have an adverbial to complete their meaning: Please put the gun down. The path runs around the field.

Back to top

Vocatives

• These are optional elements used to show the person to whom a sentence is addressed. They may occur in various positions in the clause. They include names, titles, evaluative labels, the pronoun you and certain kinds of clause: John, it's me. It's me, darling. Hello, Susan, how are you? You daft git, what do you mean? Honey, I shrank the kids. Come out, whoever you are. Come in, ladies, and sit down. Madam Speaker, I will give way.

Back to top

Clause types

• Clause elements combine to form clauses. The number of patterns is small. According to David Crystal (The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, p. 221) there are only seven basic types.
  • S + V: I / yawned
  • S + V + O: Fred / opened / the door
  • S + V + C: The dinner / is / ready
  • S + V + A: Dick Whittington / went / to London
  • S + V + O + O: Romeo / gave / Juliet / a kiss
  • S + V + O + C: Henry / got / his feet / very wet
  • S + V + O + A: Sam / put / the bottles / in the cellar

Back to top

• We can vary these patterns using directives (such as advising, instructing or commanding): Turn left at the junction. Help yourself to a drink. Go to hell! You be quiet.
• We can also vary the patterns through pro-forms (words which replace long constructions) and ellipsis (omitting an understood element).
  • Pro-forms: I've got a lovely cold drink and you've got one as well. (Here one is the pro-form, understood to mean a lovely cold drink.)
  • Ellipsis: I'd like to drink some tea, but I won't. (Here drink some tea is understood to follow but I won't.)

Back to top

Building or analysing?

These are contrasting ways of organizing the same theoretical model. We may either analyse long structures (and find the smaller elements in them) or think of how smaller elements are combined to form longer structures. The second approach has been seen as akin to what really happens in speech and writing (phrase structure grammar). Noam Chomsky argues that real language users start with longer structures and alter these by means of transformations (transformational grammar). For example, a model or paradigm with an active verb is changed by a transformational rule into a structure with a passive verb.

To understand the contrast in these approaches, see the table at the start of this guide to structure. The two approaches are shown in simple form below:

• "Bottom up"/synthetic model: morpheme è word è phrase èclause è sentence
• "Top down"/analytic model: sentence è clause è phrase è word è morpheme

Back to top

Clause functions and sentence structures

Coordinate clauses

The simplest sentences may contain a single clause. (Simple is a standard description of one kind of sentence.) Where a sentence contains more than one clause, these may be considered of equal grammatical importance. If this is so, these are coordinate clauses. They are joined by a coordinating conjunction, such as and or but. (Some grammarians call the first clause of the sentence the main clause, and the others coordinate clauses). Here are some examples. Apart from the conjunctions (or, so and and, everything else is a main/coordinate clause):

• You can travel by tube, you can drive or you can take the train.
• The weather was hot, so I went on my bike.
• Lucy opened her window, and in came Count Dracula.

Back to top

Subordinate clauses

Sometimes the clauses are placed in a hierarchy: the more important ones are main clauses, while the less important are subordinate clauses. A main or coordinate clause could stand on its own as a sentence, but a subordinate clause works only within a sentence. A subordinate clause can do the job of other clause elements. It can work as subject, object, complement and adverbial, as in these examples:

• Subordinate subject clause: What you say is stupid.

  Clause as subject = What you say; main clause = X is stupid, verb = is

• Subordinate object clause: I did not know that you were here.

  Clause as object = that you were here; main clause = I did not know X; verb = did not know

• Subordinate complement clause: Your first job is learning this grammar.

  Clause as complement = learning this grammar; main clause = Your first job is X; verb = is

• Subordinate adverbial clause: Come round when you're ready.

  Clause as adverbial = when you're ready; main clause = Come round (X); verb = Come

Back to top

Clauses that function as subject, object or complement replace noun phrases, so they are called nominal clauses. Those that function as adverbs/adjectives are adverbial/adjectival clauses.

Some other kinds of nominal clauses are shown below. For clarity, they are all shown in object position. This is not the only place where they may occur, but is the most common.

• That clause: I think (that) you know each other. (That may be omitted if understood.)
• Wh- clause: I know what you did last summer. (Clause introduced by who, when, what, why, whether.)
• -ing clause: I don't recall seeing her there. (Clause introduced by present participle.)
• inf. clause: I wish to confess to my crimes. (Clause introduced by to + infinitive.)

Back to top

Adverbial clauses

These are introduced by a subordinating conjunction, which explains the adverbial meaning of the clause. These include when/before/after/while (time); because/since (reason); if/unless/lest (condition), as in these examples:

• When the bell sounds, you may leave the room.
• We cannot send you the goods, because we are out of stock.
• Unless you are good, Father Christmas will bring you nothing.

Two minor types of adverbial clause are inf. and -ing clauses.

• Inf. clause: I went to the shop to buy some bread. (Clause introduced by to + infinitive.)
• -ing clause: Jane broke her arm while fighting. (Clause introduced by present participle.)

Back to top

Adjectival clauses

A familiar type is the relative clause, introduced by a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, that, which), as in these examples:

• Here is the woman (whom) I married.
• This is the book (which) I am reading.
• The drink (that) I most like is orange juice.

The relative pronouns are in brackets, as they may be omitted if understood.

Two minor types of adjectival clause are -ing and -ed clauses.

• -ing clause: The train now standing at platform four is the 5.30 to Leeds.
• -ed clause: She is the celebrity pursued by the press.

Since past participles do not all end in -ed we may find other verb forms in such clauses: The tea drunk by the students or the exam taken by the pupils.

Back to top

Clause elements may be single words of the appropriate category, they may be phrases or even some kinds of subordinate clause. Explaining even simple structures is difficult. Verbal explanations are less easy to make than diagrams. These work best when there is a hierarchical level, as sentences are analysed into clauses, which are further analysed into (more clauses and) phrases, which are analysed into words, which are analysed into morphemes.

In an exam, you are very unlikely to be required to analyse long sequences. Use clause analysis (or phrase analysis) selectively, to establish some point about language acquisition (learning to make or understand structures), about language and society (how structures embody social attitudes to language), language change (how structures or paradigms change over time) or stylistics (how structures embody style).

Back to top

Sentence types

In many respects, sentences can be analysed in the same terms as clauses, that is separating the elements into the categories of subject, object, verb, complement and adverbial.

However, sentences are also described in terms of:

• how clauses are arranged
• functions of the sentence
• traditional patterns which are used for particular effects in speech and writing

Back to top

Clause structures in sentences

The most basic sentence form contains a single clause. This is known as a simple sentence:

• Mary had a little lamb.
• Chocolate is delicious.
• Down fell the rain.

A compound sentence joins two coordinate clauses together:

• Mary had a little lamb and took it to school.
• I drank some tea and felt better.
• Here is a wug and here are two wugs.

Back to top

A multiple sentence links clauses of essentially similar type, with coordinating conjunctions.

• I came home, sat down, put the kettle on, lit the fire and sat down with a book.

A complex sentence uses subordination to link clauses. It is not necessarily very "complex" in the everyday sense (that is, difficult to analyse), but it may be:

• I hope that she will come.
• Lest you forget, here is my address.
• Having played football, I sat in the bath, while the kettle boiled, thinking of how to spend the evening, which loomed before me promisingly.

Back to top

Functions of the sentence

This is a simple kind of classification. Sentences are traditionally categorized into four types: statement, command, question or exclamation. These are readily illustrated by examples (note alternative names).

• Statement or declarative: This is my porridge.
• Command, wish, imperative or directive: Go and never darken my doors again.
• Question or interrogative: Who's been eating my porridge?
• Exclamation: How happy I feel!

Back to top

Other sentence types

Tag questions | Exclamatory questions | Rhetorical questions | Directives | Echoes

David Crystal (The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, p. 218) notes some other categories. Among these are:

Tag questions

Here a statement is turned into a question, with an interrogative tag at the end. Tags are typical of speech where the speaker changes the function of the sentence in mid-utterance:

• Jolly nice day today, isn't it?

Exclamatory questions

Here the structure is that of a question, but the meaning (indicated in speech by intonation) equates to an exclamation:

• Didn't she do well? Have I got news for you?

Rhetorical questions

Again the structure is that of a question, but the speaker (or writer) expects no answer. They are used as emphatic statements:

• How on earth should I know? Is the Pope a Catholic? Do bears crap in the woods?

Back to top

Directives

These are akin to imperatives, but Crystal expands the category to include related functions of instruction, direction and so on. He lists: commanding, inviting, warning, pleading, suggesting, advising, permitting, requesting, meditating, expressing wish or imprecation. Crystal notes that many use the verbs let and do in non-standard ways:

• Let me see. Let's go. Let us pray.
• Do come in. Do be quiet. Don't do that again.

Echoes

These sentences of a special kind, which reflect the structure of a preceding sentence from a different speaker in a language interaction (usually conversation):

• Echo of statement: A: It took me five hours to get here. B: Five hours to get here?
• Echo of question: A: Have you seen my wife? B: Have I seen your lice?
• Echo of directive: A: Sit down there. B: Down there?
• Echo of exclamation: A: What a plonker! B: What a complete plonker!

Back to top

Special or minor sentence types

Professor Crystal (The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, p. 216) records some unusual types of sentence, which cannot be analysed in a regular way. They are found in particular kinds of text and discourse - some are common in real speech or fictional dialogue, while others are found in such things as headlines or slogans, where a message is presented as a block of text. They do not follow all the rules of normal grammar, such as verb agreement. Among the types noted by Crystal are:

• Formulae for set social situations: Cheers, Hello, Ciao, See you, How do you do? Ta!
• Emotional or functional noises (traditionally interjections): Hey! Ugh! Agh! Ow! Tut! Shh! (Note how such forms are subject to change over time. Consider Tush, eh, hein?)
• Proverbs or aphorisms: Easy come, easy go. Least said, soonest mended.
• Short forms as used in messages, instructions or commentaries: Wish you were here. Shearer to Beckham. Simmer gently. Hope you are well.
• Elliptical words or phrases with a structural meaning equivalent to a complete exclamation, question or command: Brilliant! Lovely day! Coming? Drink? All aboard! Drink up!

Back to top

Structure and style in sentences

Loose sentence | Balanced sentence | Periodic sentence

For purposes of analysing style, sentences may be described as loose, balanced or periodic.

Loose sentence

Here the writer or speaker states fact after fact as they occur, seemingly freely and artlessly, as in the opening of The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe:

“I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family, though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull: he got a good estate by merchandise, and leaving off his trade, lived afterwards at York, from whence he had married my mother, whose relations were named Robinson, a very good family in that country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznoer; but by the usual corruption of words in England, we are now called, nay we call ourselves, and write our name Crusoe, and so my companions always called me. ”

Back to top

Balanced sentence

Here the writer or speaker has a concern for symmetry - the second half of the sentence contains a similar or opposite idea to the first half. These techniques are very effective in persuasion, and are sometimes known as parallelism or antithesis. Consider this from Francis Bacon (1561-1626):

“Children sweeten labours, but they make misfortunes more bitter: they increase the cares of life, but they mitigate the remembrance of death.”

Or this from Viscount Grey of Fallodon, on the eve of the First World War:

“The lamps are going out all over Europe: we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.”

Or, finally, this, spoken by President John F. Kennedy:

“Ask not what your country can do for you: ask what you can do for your country.”

Back to top

Periodic sentence

Here the climax of the sentence comes at its end. A good example is in the opening of Edward Gibbon's 18th century Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:

“It was in Rome, on the 15th of October 1764, as I sat musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, while the barefooted friars were singing vespers in the temple of Jupiter, that the idea of writing the decline and fall of the city first started to my mind.”

Back to top

Studying Language: sources of information

A comprehensive bibliography is published by AQA/NEAB. You and your teachers will use some of the reference works on this list. In addition you may make use of any of the following sources of help.

Dictionaries are an excellent source of information. The best of these give etymologies, identify word classes, record standard and non-standard words and show variant spellings. Some modern dictionaries use a language corpus to indicate words among the thousand (or other number) most commonly used. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and The Shorter Oxford Dictionary are the traditional authorities, but there are excellent dictionaries published by Chambers, Longman, Collins, Cambridge and others.

The most comprehensive reference works are The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language and The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by David Crystal. The former can often be purchased at a discount by joining a book club. At the opposite extreme an excellent introduction to traditional grammar can be found in Dorothy Paull's The Ladybird Book of Spelling and Grammar.

Back to top

Broadcast material can also be helpful, and some is available on video or audio-tape from the broadcasters. This includes Professor Jean Aitchison's 1996 Reith Lectures for BBC radio: The Language Web, and Robert McCrum's TV history: The Story of English. A long-running radio series, which investigates a comprehensive range of language issues is R4's Word of Mouth.

For a very full explanation of syntax, especially the function of the independent main clause, see Shirley Russell's Grammar, Structure and Style (OUP, Oxford, 1993; ISBN 0-19-831179-6)

The World Wide Web has a huge range of sites dedicated to language use, too many to list here. Very helpful are translation engines (most browsers or search engines have these) which will alter a given text into English (or a different variety of English). The Web also, of course, will give you access to the language departments of many academic institutions.

Click here for a link to many more on-line sources of information.

Please acknowledge my authorship by giving the URL of any pages you use, and/or include the © copyright symbol. Suggestions for improvement are welcome. Thank you.

© Andrew Moore, 2000; Contact me

Search Now:

Use the search box on the left or the link below to go to Amazon.com for books, video tapes, DVDs and much more. Go to Amazon.com Home Page