Clause Structure

Grammar
21 February 2014
Author: Graham Williamson

What is a clause?
We represent our experiences linguistically by packaging information
into clauses. As such, clauses can be considered to be the key unit of
grammar. They are units of information structured around a verb
phrase (VP) and, according to some theories (e.g. Systemic Functional
Theory), a basic clause must consist minimally of a Subject and a verb.

Using a different descriptive approach, however, clauses may be

described in terms of processes (what is going on), participants (the
person(s) or thing(s) involved), and the circumstances accompanying the
process (see What Do We Talk About?). Using this descriptive approach,
a basic clause must consist of a process and at least one participant.

There are several exceptions to the above claims but space does not
allow a more detailed discussion. The interested reader is referred to the
work of Biber, Conrad and Leech (2002).

For now, we will examine the seven basic clause structures in English
that are built around a verb phrase:

1. SVO
2. SV
3. SVA
4. SVC
5. SVOC
6. SVOA
7. SVOO

SVO structure
English syntax generally follows a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order.
Consider the following example.

the boy hugged the dog

We see that the Subject of the clause (the thing or person performing the
action) is the boy; the Verb, which describes the particular action,
is hugged, and the Object (the thing undergoing the action) is the dog.
This clause can, therefore, be represented as follows.

Subject Verb Object

the boy hugged the dog
We have also noted how both the Subject and Object are represented
by noun phrases and that the Verb is represented, as it must always be,
by a verb phrase. Further examples of the basic SVO structure include
the following.

Subject Verb Object

my dad washed his car
your friend was opening the door
Verity is throwing a ball
The basic SVO structure of English syntax can be modified in a number of
ways but there are two main methods. The first is to remove or replace a
functional element and the second is to add another functional element to
the three-part structure.

SV structure
The basic Subject-Verb-Object structure can be reduced to produce a
clause with the structure Subject-Verb (SV), e.g.
 Subject Verb
Anila kicked
my mother is drilling
the girl laughed
Li Wei went
A point to note here is that some verbs may take an Object, and thereby
be expanded into the basic SVO structure, whereas some may not.
Consider the first example Anila kicked. This SV structure could be
expanded into an SVO structure as follows.

Subject Verb Object

Anila kicked the ball
Similarly, the second example my mother is drilling could also be
expanded into an SVO clause, e.g.

Subject Verb Object

my mother is drilling a hole
Verbs such as kick and drill that are capable of taking an Object are
referred to as transitive verbs. However, not all verbs are capable of
taking an Object. Consider the verb laugh in the third example the girl
laughed. It is not possible to expand this utterance into an SVO structure,
e.g.

Subject Verb Object

the girl laughed it
It is evident that this utterance is syntactically incorrect
because laugh is incapable of taking an Object. Similarly, the verb go in
the fourth example Li Wei went is also not capable of taking an Object.
So, for example, the following construction is also syntactically incorrect.

Subject Verb Object

Li Wei went it
Verbs such as laugh and go that do not take an Object are known
as intransitive verbs.

SVA structure
The Object in the basic SVO structure can be substituted by an Adjunct
that supplies further detail about actions, events and states. Adjuncts are
most often optional elements that provide information related to manner,
time, location or cause. Consider the following.

Subject Verb Adjunct

[Adjunct of
the small child cried very loudly
manner]
my friend left that evening [Adjunct of time]
[Adjunct of
Sarah lives in America
location]
[Adjunct of
she has been sad since you left
cause]
We noted earlier that Adjuncts may be represented by adverb
phrases, noun phrases and prepositional phrases. From the above
examples, the Adjunct of manner in the small child cried very loudly is
represented by the adverb phrase very loudly. Further examples of
Adjuncts represented by adverb phrases include the following.

Subject Verb Adjunct (AdvP)

Rooney played superbly
my charming son was hovering rather sheepishly
she would behave so bravely
From the previous examples, the Adjunct of time in my friend left that
evening is represented not by an adverb phrase but by a noun
phrase, that evening. Further examples of Adjuncts represented by noun
phrases include the following.

Subject Verb Adjunct (NP)

the boy ran two miles
your fourth
sang this afternoon
cousin
Ravi shouted that morning
The Adjunct of location in Sarah lives in America from the earlier
examples is represented by a prepositional phrase, in America. Further
examples of prepositional phrases functioning as Adjuncts include the
following.
 Subject Verb Adjunct (PrepP)
Robert ran to the door
Helen’s brother played after his dinner
the ball was bouncing on the pitch

SVC structure
There is a fundamental difference between an Object and a Complement.
The difference is that the Subject and Object refer to different things
whereas the Subject and Complement (in a SVC clause) refer to the same
thing. Consider the following.

Subject Verb Object

Julie stroked the cat
In this clause, the Subject refers to one thing (Julie) and the Object refers
to another thing (the cat), i.e. they are not the same. In contrast, the
Subject and Complement refer to the same thing, e.g.

Subject Verb Complement

Dawn seems happy
In this clause, the Complement (happy) makes reference to the same
thing as the Subject (Dawn), i.e. it is Dawn that is happy. Other examples
include the following.

Complement
Subject Verb
(AdjP)
Brian went mad
this book is rather terrible
my mother appeared sad
It should be apparent from all of these examples that the Complement
refers to the same thing as the Subject, i.e. Brian is mad, the book is
terrible, the mother is sad. In all the examples provided above, the
Complement has been represented by an adjective phrase consisting of
just a head adjective (mad, terrible, sad). However, we have indicated
that Complements may also be represented by noun phrases. For
example:

Subject Verb Complement

 (NP)
the witch changed into an ant
Adam was born a hero
Kathryn became the dentist
Again we see that the Subject and Complement refer to the same thing,
i.e. the witch is the ant, Adam is the hero, Kathryn is the dentist. In each
of these examples, the Complement is represented by a noun phrase
made up of an identifier and a head noun (an ant, a hero, the dentist).

SVOC structure
Recall that, as well as removing or replacing an element in the basic SVO
structure, we can also add other elements. One possibility is to append a
Complement, i.e. SVOC. We have seen that when a Complement fills the
same position as the Object in the SVO structure then the Complement
refers to the same thing as the Subject. However, the Complement refers
to the same thing as the Object when it follows the Object. For example:

Subject Verb Object Complement

Paul considered your ideas rather silly
It is apparent in this example that the Complement (very silly) refers to
the same thing as the Object (your ideas), i.e. it is the ideas that are very
silly and not Paul that is very silly. Other examples include:

Subject Verb Object Complement

Cole found the game frustrating
the mussels made Rupinder ill
Duncan designed the room rather dark
In each of these examples we see that the Object and the Complement
refer to the same thing, i.e. it is the game that is frustrating and not Cole
that is frustrating; it is Rupinder who is ill and not the mussels, and it is
the room that is dark and not Duncan.

SVOA structure
As well as adding a Complement to the fundamental SVO structure, we
can also add an Adjunct. Recall that Adjuncts are discretionary elements
that supply extra information related to manner, time, location, and so on.
Consider the following.

Subject Verb Object Adjunct

the boy hugged the dog gently
In this utterance the Adjunct function is represented by an adverb
phrase that consists of just the head adverbgently. This Adjunct provides
additional information regarding the manner in which the Subject, the
boy, carried out an action on the Object, the dog. We now realize that
this action was carried out gently. Here is a further example.

Subject Verb Object Adjunct

the man held the woman so softly
In this clause, the Adjunct is again represented by an adverb phrase, this
time consisting of the head adverbsoftly that is pre-modified by the
intensifying adverb so. Once more, this is an Adjunct of manner that
describes how the Subject, the man, performed the action of holding on
the Object, the woman. Here are some further examples of SVOA
structures.

Subject Verb Object Adjunct

[Adjunct of
Graeme wrote his essay quickly
manner]
the therapists assessed the children yesterday [Adjunct of time]
[Adjunct of
Daniel cleaned his flat in London
location]

SVOO structure
The final English clause structure involves the addition of a second
Object to the primary SVO structure, i.e. SVOO. When two Objects are
included in a clause a distinction is made between the direct object
(Od) and theindirect object (Oi). The direct object is the thing or person
undergoing an action, being talked about, and so on, and the indirect
object is the person who is the recipient or beneficiary of the action.
Consider the following example.

Subject Verb Indirect Object Direct Object

Anna gave her mother a beautiful card
In this example, the thing undergoing the action is a beautiful card, i.e. it
is the card that is being given. This is, therefore, the direct object. The
person who benefits from the action is her mother, i.e. the beautiful card
is given to the mother. This is, therefore, the indirect object. Consider a
further example.

Subject Verb Indirect Object Direct Object

Graham sent Margaret his love
In this clause the thing undergoing the action of being sent is his love,
i.e. it is Graham’s love that is being sent. This is, therefore, the direct
object. The recipient of the action is Margaret, i.e. she is the one who
receives Graham’s love. This is, therefore, the indirect object. Further
examples of SVOO clauses are given below.

Subject Verb Indirect Object Direct Object

Alex sent Ryan his regards
the twins shipped their friends the carved clock
Sheila tossed Amerjit my shuttlecock

References
Biber, D., Conrad, S. and Leech, G. (2002) Student Grammar of Spoken
English Harlow: Longman.