English Language SYNTAX – (still)

But first – back to morphology. “-ed” “kick” to “kicked” “cold-blood”

Phrase? Subject? Predicate?

Identify the verb (v), the subject (s) and then the rest of the predicate(x) in the following sentences: Angus threw the letter away The speeding car swerved around the corner She made a beautiful pavlova The people at the convention were amazed

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So what is a clause? A clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a predicate. In English we have different types of clauses, performing different types of functions in sentences.

A main clause can stand on its own as a sentence. We love English Language. He is the best. He ran a fast race. She opened the door. I love homework. A main clause can stand on its own as a sentence. A main clause is often called an independent clause, for obvious reason

A subordinate clause cannot stand on its own as a sentence. We love English Language because of the teacher. He ran a fast race due to all of his training. She opened the door to let him in. I love homework because it makes me smarter. A subordinate clause cannot stand on its own as a sentence. A subordinate clause is often called an dependent clause, for obvious reason

This is a great class that has a great teacher. The artist who did the painting is over there. This is the house that Jack built. He is the teacher who helped us with our work A relative clause is a subordinate clause that describes a noun that it relates to. A relative clause is always introduced by a relative pronoun – who, which, whose, that, where, when... A relative pronoun stands for the noun phrase that it represents. EGs-> This is the house. Jack built the house. => This is the house that Jack built. This is the artist. The artist finished the painting. => The artist who did the painting is over there. This is a great class. This great class has a great teacher. => This is a great class that has a great teacher. He is a teacher. He helped us with our work. => He is the teacher who helped us with our work.

subordinate clause main clause subordinate clause As she entered the room the girl screamed because she saw the ghost When did she scream? Why did she scream? An adverbial clause answers the questions “how”, “when”, “where”, and “why” about the verb.

Divide each of these sentences into a main clause and a subordinate clause. When we got to the airport the plane had gone The little boy hurried through his dinner so he could have his dessert. Before we finish, we must complete this one.

Divide each of these sentences into a main clause and a subordinate clause. When we got to the airport the plane had gone The little boy hurried through his dinner so he could have his dessert. Before we finish, we must complete this one.

Divide each of these sentences into a main clause and a subordinate clause. When we got to the airport the plane had gone The little boy hurried through his dinner so he could have his dessert. Before we finish, we must complete this one.

Divide each of these sentences into a main clause and a subordinate clause. When we got to the airport the plane had gone The little boy hurried through his dinner so he could have his dessert. Before we finish, we must complete this one.

Sentences are made up of various configurations of phrases and clauses.

SIMPLE SENTENCE is one which contains one single clause. We had a great time! Could you answer the phone? They went to school. I love English Language.

A COMPOUND SENTENCE is one which is made up of two or more simple sentences joined by a conjunction or separated by a comma, semi-colon or colon. We had a great time but we wish we had more homework! Could you answer the phone because I am eating? They went to school because they like learning. I love English Language because we have a great teacher.

A COMPLEX SENTENCE is one which is made up of a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses. They ran as if they were being chased by a mad man.

A COMPLEX SENTENCE is one which is made up of a main clause with one or more subordinate clauses. If the box breaks the books will spill out everywhere. They ran as if they were being chased by a mad man.

A COMPLEX SENTENCE is one which is made up of a main clause with one or more subordinate clauses. If the box breaks the books will spill out everywhere. They ran as if they were being chased by a mad man.

A COMPLEX SENTENCE is one which is made up of a main clause with one or more subordinate clauses. As she entered the room, the girl screamed because she saw the ghost. If the box breaks the books will spill out everywhere. They ran as if they were being chased by a mad man.

A COMPLEX SENTENCE is one which is made up of a main clause with one or more subordinate clauses. As she entered the room, the girl screamed because she saw the ghost. If the box breaks the books will spill out everywhere. They ran as if they were being chased by a mad man.

An ELLIPSIS is the omission of words from a sentence, either because they appear elswhere or because they can be worked out from the context. Got it?

Sentence types… DECLARATIVE – statements or sentences that state facts IMPERATIVE – commands or sentences that give orders or requests EXCLAMATIVE – sentences that express a strong feeling of emotion INTERROGATIVE - questions or sentences that ask for an answer It is very cold. Do not go out in the cold. Gosh it’s cold! Are you cold?

Activity 1. Identify sentence types – for example, imperative, declarative, exclamative, interrogative – in the following. Are you going on Saturday? Take your shoes off. I couldn’t believe it! Get the milk while you are out, will you? Who do you think will win? Interrogative Imperative Exclamative Imperative Interrogative

Activity 2. The way in which we structure sentences affects their meaning. STRUCTURAL AMBIGUITY occurs where sentences or utterances have more than one meaning. The following sentences are structurally ambiguous. Paraphrase each in two different ways to show you understand the two meanings. The boy saw the man with the glasses When the building caught fire, the family sought safety in their pyjamas Dinner will be served in the large girls’ room Lee told his brother he had won the prize.

Activity 3. Re-arrange the following words to make sentences except, I, on, always, in, when, talk, a, doodle, hurry, phone, I’m, when, I, the, through, Ted, him, with, if, I’m, tell, him, see.

(Hint: some may belong to more than one word class) Activity 4. Can you list the following words under their correct word class? (Hint: some may belong to more than one word class) make, do, I, rubber, though, none, was, can, girl, will, and, said, thing, the, a, biscuit, tough, from, in, with, brain, you, is, icing, like, know, aardvark, going, this, saw, that

Activity 5 – pop quiz. What does a relative clause do? What’s the difference between a compound sentence and a complex sentence? What does structural ambiguity mean?