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Unit 7 Basic and Derived Structures Handout

The document discusses basic and derived structures in English grammar. It defines basic structures as those that do not involve transformation rules, while derived structures result from applying transformation rules to basic structures. Some examples of transformations are fronting, inversion, passive voice, cleft sentences, existential sentences, and extraposition. Transformations can be either obligatory or optional and are often used for stylistic purposes.

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312 views2 pages

Unit 7 Basic and Derived Structures Handout

The document discusses basic and derived structures in English grammar. It defines basic structures as those that do not involve transformation rules, while derived structures result from applying transformation rules to basic structures. Some examples of transformations are fronting, inversion, passive voice, cleft sentences, existential sentences, and extraposition. Transformations can be either obligatory or optional and are often used for stylistic purposes.

Uploaded by

901Rohit Varma
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Unit 7.

Basic and Derived Structures

7.1. Basic and Derived Structures

A description of English so far has been aimed at the analysis of various structures that make up the
language, paying attention to notions like ‘form’ and ‘function’ i.e. CONSTITUENT STRUCTURE
model of grammar. However, this approach sometimes fails to account for certain structures that we
review now by introducing the notions of:

- BASIC STRUCTURE, which does not show application of transformation rules,


- DERIVED STRUCTURE, which results after rules have been applied to basic structures,
- TRANSFORMATIONS, which can be considered as rules that allow a clause to change its
structure to a different one.

Examples of transformations are:

1. Fronting: S + P + O/C/A → O/C/A + S + P

e.g. I love syntax → Syntax I love


She has a great car →What a great car she has
[*I can’t read he is writing what]→I can’t read what he is writing

2. Inversion: [A + S + P → A + P + S]

e.g. There stood the Commander in chief


Here come the police cars

Transformations can be:


- Obligatory, e.g. Fronting with a WH- element *I can’t read he is writing what
- Optional, e.g. Fronting for emphasis

7.2. Style and Transformation

Many transformations are primarily stylistic in function, e.g. passive,

The heavy rains have destroyed seventy houses


Seventy houses have been destroyed by the heavy rains
Seventy houses have been destroyed

1
Some other transformations involving transposition of clause elements include:

a) Cleft sentences

The cleft sentence derives its name from the fact that a single clause is cleft into two clause-like
parts, even though it is generally analysed as a single clause with 2 predicates instead of as 2
separate clauses.

Basic structure: John was wearing pink socks last night

Derived structures: (Sj) It was John that was wearing pink socks last night
(O) It was pink socks that John was wearing last night
(A) It was last night that John was wearing pink socks

b) Existential sentences

They resemble cleft-sentences in that they are introduced by a special particle as Subject followed by
TO BE. The prop subject in this case is the so-called EXISTENTIAL particle ‘THERE’ introducing a
proposition of existence.

Rule: [S + BE + X → There + BE + Sj + X],

Nobody was around → There was nobody around


A few people are getting promoted → There are a few people getting promoted

c) Extraposition

A construction in which a Nominal Clause, usually one functioning as Subject is postponed to the
end of the main clause and is replaced in its basic position by the empty subject ‘IT’.

‘END-WEIGHT’

Rule:

[S + P ] → [It + P + S] e.g. What you say to them doesn’t matter


→ It doesn’t matter what you say to them

[S + P + C] → [It + P + C + S] e.g. That the dispute has been settled is encouraging


→ It is encouraging that the dispute has been settled

[S + P + IO + DO]→[It + S + P + IO + DO] e.g. To move the exam causes him considerable pain
→It causes him considerable pain to move the exam

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