English Grammar For English majors

What is grammar? Grammar is the structural system of a language. The grammar of the English language is organized into five ranks: the sentence, the clause, the phrase, the word and the morpheme.

Sentence Structure 1. Basic clause types/sentence structure 2. Transformation and expansion of basic clause types How many types of sentence structure are there in English? ------Seven. What are they?

1. Basic clause types A. SV----------subject + verb B. SVO--------subject + verb + object C. SVC--------subject + verb + complement D. SVoO------subject + verb + objects E. SVOC------subject + verb + object + complement F. SVA---------subject + verb + adverbial G. SVOA------subject + verb + object + adverbial

2. Transformation and expansion of basic clause types The basic clause types are all affirmative statements with verbs in the active voice. -----An affirmative clause can be transformed into the negative; -----a statement into a question; -----and the active into the passive. e.g. He teaches us English.  He does not teach us English  Does he teach us English?  We are taught English by him.

2. Transformation and expansion of basic clause types The basic clause types and their variants can also be expanded into larger grammatical units through adding modifiers at various levels, and these larger units can again be expanded through coordination and subordination into compound, complex and compound-complex sentences. e.g. He did not like us, and everyone knew it, but no one admitted it. He began to work when he was 13 after his father died.

Subject-verb concord (agreement) I Grammatical concord Notional concord Principle of proximity Rules to be observed in Subject-verb Concord

1. Grammatical concord This principle refers to the rule that the verb must match its subject in number. If the subject is plural, the verb should take the plural form; if, on the other hand, the subject is singular or is a mass (uncountable) noun, the verb should take the singular form.

2. Notional concord This refers to the rule that the verb can sometimes agree with the subject according to the notion of number rather than to the actual presence of the grammatical marker for that notion. e.g. The committee is made up of seven members. The committee agree to discuss the proposal at the next meeting. His family is not large. His family all work in a factory nearby.   Ten minutes seems an hour when one is waiting for a phone call.

3. Principle of proximity This rule denotes agreement of the verb with a closely preceding noun phrase which functions as a subject. e.g. Either you or she has learned English. Only one out of five were present.

4. Rules to be observed in Subject-verb Concord 1. Problems of concord with nouns ending in –s 1.1   Nouns treated as singular 1.2 Nouns treated as plural 1.3 Nouns treated either as singular or as plural 2.   Problems of concord with collective nouns 2.1 Collective nouns used as plural 2.2 Collective nouns used as singular 2.3 Collective nouns used either as plural or as singular

1.1 Nouns treated as singular 1) Names of diseases ending in –s Mumps is a kind of infectious disease. (But measles and rickets can be used either as singular or as plural.) e.g. Measles is/are an infectious disease. 2) Names of games ending in –s Draughts is an easier game than chess. (But cards is treated as plural.) e.g. Cards are not allowed here.

1.1 Nouns treated as singular 3) Names of subjects ending in –ics Physics is an important subject in our school. These statistics show?/shows? that our gross national product has doubled. 4) Names of countries, organizations, and corporations ending in –s The United Nations was founded in 1945. International airlines is famous all over the world for its good service. 5)Names of books, magazines, and newspapers ending in–s The New York Times is published daily.

1.2 Nouns treated as plural Names of archipelago, mountain range, straits and falls The West Indies are a large group of islands which are divided into two parts. 2) Names for things of two parts These include scissors, trousers, glasses, shorts, suspenders, etc.. Your suspenders are not here.  One pair of scissors is?/are? not enough.  Three pairs of scissors is?/are? needed.

1.2 Nouns treated as plural 3) Nouns ending in –ings The beautiful surroundings are beneficial to health. All his earnings have been spent by his wife. ( But tidings can be treated either as singular or as plural.) The tidings (==news) has/have come a little too late. 4) Nouns ending in –s These include clothes, contents, goods, stairs, suburbs, wages, etc.. The contents of the book are interesting indeed.

1.3 Nouns treated either as singular or as plural These include barracks,headquarters, means, series, species, works, etc.. Every possible means has been tried. All possible means have been tried.

2. Problems of concord with collective nouns 2.1 Collective nouns used as plural 2.2 Collective nouns used as singular 2.3 Collective nouns used either as plural or as singular

2. Problems of concord with collective nouns 2.1 Collective nouns used as plural (e.g. people, police, cattle, poultry, etc.) The police are searching for the lost child. 2.2 Collective nouns used as singular (e.g. equipment, furniture, machinery, etc.) All the machinery in the factory is made in China. 2.3 Collective nouns used either as plural or as singular (e.g. audience, committee, class, family, government, public, team, etc..) Our class is composed of 25 students. The class are taking notes of what the teacher says.

Notes: When a plural noun is preceded by a committee of, a (the) board of, a panel of, etc. the verb usually takes the singular form. The board of directors is responsible for the management of the firm.   But: The Board of Directors are shaking their heads at the Chairman’s speech. I think they disapprove of what he is saying.

Additional Exercises in Grammar I. Give the correct form: 1) Art A city without ___is dead. / Painting is___. 2) Rest After a big meal, you should take___. Everybody needs food, drink and___. 3) Space In writing English, we leave__after each word. Beyond the stars there is nothing but___. 4) Pleasure I will come with__. / It will be___to see you.

I. Give the correct form: 5) Education No country can afford to neglect ___. She has received ____ (very good)___. 6) Light ____travel(s) faster than sound. Do you have ____ in the corridor?

Give the plural form of the following words: Negro echo hero tomato potato veto auto kilo photo piano radio zoo bamboo buffalo mosquito volcano cargo tornado Exercise: p34—35 p37—38

Thank you.