Rovuma University
English Teaching Course Branch Nampula - year 3
Subject: Syntax of English I/semester I
Name: Elias Daniel Passangeze
Essay about sentence structure
1. Sentence Structure: Functions
Understanding the structure of a sentence involves more than
knowing what its constituents are. It involves knowing the category
and the function of those constituents.
a) Subject and predicate
To be sure of identifying only the very largest (immediate) constituents of the
sentence I shall, wherever possible, divide the sentence into the fewest possible parts,
i.e. into just two. An example of the simplest possible complete sentence structure is:
Max coughed; Pigs fly; Empires decline, and Martha retaliated.
All these sentences have the same general structure. They only differ at a lower
(more detailed) level in their hierarchical structure. At the general level that concerns us
here, they illustrate the same relation and the same functions. In making this first
division, we have divided these sentences into two constituents, the first of which is
traditionally said to function as subject, and the second as predicate.
One way of thinking of these functions is to think of the subject as being used to
mention something (e.g. the ducks) and the predicate as used to say something about
the subject (e.g. that they were paddling away). The subject generally identifies what
the sentence is about; the predicate identifies what’s being said about it.
Constituents have their functions in respect of their sisters. There are three kinds of
functional relation between sisters:
Subject Predicate. The functional relation between the immediate constituents of
sentences, Noun Phrase (NP) and Verb Phrase (VP). It is a mutual (two-way)
dependency – S and P are both obligatory precedes P.
Modifier Head. This is a one-way dependency: modifiers depend on heads.
Modifiers are optional (omissible). Some modifiers precede and some follow the heads
they modify.
Head Complement. A two-way dependency. Complements are obligatory,
needed to complete the meaning of the phrase. The head generally precedes its
complement.
Heads. The head is the obligatory centre of its phrase. Every phrase has a head
and no more than one head. The category of the head determines the category of the
phrase.
2. Sentence Structure: Categories
These are phrasal categories:
Nouns: a noun is the name of a person, place, or thing. Eg.:dog, Luca,
Mozambique etc. There are several sub-categories of the noun category. I’ll mention
four subcategories of noun: proper vs. common and count vs. mass.
Proper nouns are names, spelt with an initial capital. Examples from the above
list are: January, Frankenstein, Bugsy, Jessica, Java, Portsmouth. These generally
constitute Noun Phrases in their own right.
All other nouns are common nouns. What follows normally applies only to
common nouns. All common nouns can combine with the (the definite article) to
form a Noun Phrase (e.g. the accident, the mud, the cutlery).
Mass nouns refer to ‘things’ that cannot be counted (so they are sometimes called
non-count nouns). Examples are butter, foam, cutlery, furniture, honesty, grace. Mass
nouns don’t normally display any of the above possibilities.
They cannot normally appear in a plural form (foams, butters, honesties). Nor can
they normally follow a/an (a foam, a butter, a furniture), numerals or similar
expressions (one foam, nine furniture).
Adjectives and Adverbs: Any word that has the same distribution as those words
is an adjective. Many adjectives have characteristic endings, such as -able, -al, -ate, -ful,
-ic, -ing, -ish, -ive, -less, -ous, -y. Examples are: capable, economical, Italianate,
beautiful, microscopic, surprising, priggish, inventive, hopeless, eponymous, fluffy.
There are other adjectival endings, and the endings given are only typical of
adjectives, not an infallible guide. The more common adjectives tend not to have
characteristic endings (e.g. nice, old, hot, short, tight, full, long, quick) and this goes for
the colour adjectives (blue, yellow, etc.).
Adjective Phrases and Adverb Phrases:
Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases:
Co-ordinate Phrases:
3. The Verb phrase
A Noun Phrase (functioning as subject) followed by a Verb Phrase (functioning as
predicate).As these VPs illustrate, categories introduced in previous chapters may
appear in the VP, including Noun Phrases. Within the VP, however, NPs have different
functions. It is with these different functions of NP and other categories of phrase that I
am primarily concerned here.
A first look at verbs: The one constituent that a Verb Phrase (VP) must contain is a
verb (V). VPs are centered on V. There are two kinds of verb in English: lexical and
auxiliary. Lexical verbs are the ones that belong to the indefinitely large general
vocabulary of the language (e.g. run, eat, seem, explain, recycle, shatter, prepare,
depend). Auxiliary verbs, by contrast, are a special and very restricted set of verbs. The
clear ones are: be, have, and do (which can also be lexical) and can/could, will/would,
shall/should, may/might, must, and need.
A full VP must contain a lexical verb and it may contain auxiliary verbs. In the
following, the lexical verbs are in bold and the auxiliary verbs are in italics.
Diana plays the piano. [1b] Diana played the piano.
Anders is explaining his generalization.
Maggie should have recycled those bottles.
Wim may have been preparing his lecture.
A verb phrase consists of a main verb alone, or a main verb plus any modal and/or
auxiliary verbs. The main verb always comes last in the verb phrase:
(mo = modal Verb; aux = auxiliary Verb; mv = main Verb)
We all [MV]laughed.
Computers [MO]can [MV]be very annoying!
An apartment [MO]would [AUX]have [MV]cost less than a hotel for four of us.
Simple verb phrases
A simple verb phrase consists of a main verb. The verb in a simple verb phrase shows
the type of clause (e.g. declarative, imperative):
Your camera takes fantastic pictures. (present simple, declarative clause)
Dress smartly. Arrive on time. (imperative clauses)
4. Adverbials and other Related matters
In this piece of essay I look more closely at the distinction between complements and
modifiers in the Verb Phrase.
Many adverbs are not as easily identified as such by -ly morphology, particularly
adverbs relating to time: again, yet, still, already, seldom, often, always, ever, never.
In addition to AdvPs and PPs, certain NPs can function as adverbials: last year,
yesterday, tonight, tomorrow, the day before yesterday, the day after tomorrow, this
afternoon .
Adverbials are words, phrases, or clauses that provide additional information about
how, when, where, or why something happens in a sentence. They often modify verbs,
adjectives, or other adverbs.
Types of Adverbials:
1. Adverbs: Single words, e.g., quickly, yesterday, here, very.
2. Adverbial Phrases: Groups of words functioning as an adverb, e.g., in the
morning, with enthusiasm.
3. Adverbial Clauses: Dependent clauses that act as adverbs, e.g., because I was
tired, I left early.
Functions of Adverbials:
Time: When? today, yesterday, soon
Place: Where? here, there, upstairs
Manner: How? slowly, carefully
Frequency: How often? often, never
Degree: To what extent? very, almost
Reason or Cause: Why? because of the rain
Related Matters:
Position: Adverbials can usually be placed flexibly in a sentence, often at the
beginning, middle, or end.
Emphasis: Moving adverbials can change the emphasis in a sentence.
Prepositional Phrases as Adverbials: Commonly serve as adverbials, e.g., He
arrived after dinner.
