The Syntax of the Clause

Course Outline
I.
1.1. Sentences and Phrases
1.2. Processes, Participants and Circumstances
1.3. Clauses
1.4. The Rank Scale
1.5. How eanin! and "rammar #re Related
1.$. %orm and %unction
1.&. 'ord (rder
II.
2.1. Transacti)e and *on+Transacti)e Processes
2.2. Transiti)e and ,ntransiti)e Clauses
2.3. -ernel Clauses
2.4. The Su./ect in -ernel Clauses
2.5. (./ect Complements 0 1irect (./ects in -ernel Clauses
2.$. ,ntensi)e Complements in -ernel Clauses
2.&. -ernel Clauses in a Simple Te2t
2.3. #d)er.ial Complements
2.4. #d)er.ial Complements and the Predicator
2.15. Phrasal and Prepositional 6er.s
III.
3.1. 7a.ellin! Constituent %unction
3.1.1. T8pes o9 Process in a Te2t
3.1.2. Some Trans9ormations: 1eri)ed Clauses
3.2. ore Clause Structure Constituents
3.2.1. 1irect and ,ndirect (./ects
3.2.2. ,ntensi)e Complements Re9errin! to the (./ects 0 (./ect Complements
IV.
Comple2it8 within Phrases
4.1. Su.ordination within *Ps and PrepPs
4.2. Coordination within *Ps and PrepPs
4.3. #pposition
4.4. Comple2 #d/Ps and #d)Ps
4.5. Comple2it8 within the 6P
I.
1.1. Sentences and Phrases
The smallest meanin!9ul unit o9 !rammar in lan!ua!e is the morpheme and, in ;n!lish, one or
more morphemes make up a word. 'e show the .oundaries o9 words in writin! .8 lea)in! a space
.etween them, althou!h in speech we do not separate words 9rom each other. #s listeners and speakers
o9 ;n!lish, we know where the word .oundaries would .e. Howe)er, we neither read nor listen to one
word at a time in normal circumstances. So there must .e other !rammatical units which con)e8
meanin!, and the one which we ha)e .een tau!ht to o.ser)e in writin! is the sentence.
Words, then, make up sentences, and within sentences words are !rouped to!ether to make
other meanin!9ul units 9or which the term phrase is used. 'e can sa8 that words are grouped into
phrases, and phrases are grouped into sentences.
<ut when we talk or write, we do not think speci9icall8 in terms o9 words, phrases and
sentences =which are units o9 !rammar>, .ut in terms o9 meanings. The !rammar o9 ;n!lish, howe)er,
makes meanin! possi.le when we wish to re9er to the world around us or to the world inside our minds
? i.e. what we see, hear, touch, think, or 9eel.
(ne 9undamental use o9 lan!ua!e is to make statements or o.ser)ations a.out li9e to another
person, t8picall8 a.out what we ha)e done or seen. %or e2ample, the spoken statement:
=1>. , can see the milkman across the road.
contains what is called a proposition a.out seein!, which relates three elements: @me 0 ,A, @the
milkmanA, and @the roadA. This statement uses lan!ua!e .8 o.e8in! the rules o9 the !rammar o9
;n!lish. ,t puts the words in a certain order. Word order is as much a part o9 !rammar as space is part
o9 punctuation.
%or the statement a.o)e other word orders are possi.le:
=2>. Across the road , can see the milkman.
in which the phrase @across the roadA has .een mo)ed to the 9ront o9 the sentence.
The phrase @the milkmanA can .e mo)ed to the 9ront, and i9 we stress the word @milkmanA the
construction .elow is )er8 likel8 to occur in speech:
=3>. The milkman , can see across the road.
2
Howe)er, we cannot mo)e other !roups or indi)idual words a.out:
=4>. B
1
The road , can see the milkman across.
=5>. B #cross , can see the milkman the road.
=$>. B Can see the milkman , across the road.
=&>. B See the milkman across the road , can.
Construction =4> could .e a response to the Cuestion @'hich road do 8ou meanDA, .ut it is not
itsel9 a complete !rammatical sentence.
#t this point we can sa8 that the grammatical constituents of a sentence, i.e. the units we can
mo)e a.out to some e2tent, are not words, .ut phrases that consist o9 one or more words, which
consist o9 one or more morphemes.
1.2. Processes Participants and Circumstances
The )er. phrase @can seeA in the sentence @, can see the milkman across the roadA means that:
a>. , am a.le to do somethin! at the moment =can>.
and
.>. , am usin! m8 sense o9 si!ht =see>.
The term process is used as a !eneral term to represent:
+ e!ents, whether the8 are physical actions like @walkA and @hitA, or mental like @thinkA or
@seeAE
+ states like @.eA and @seemA.
So @to seeA is a mental process of perception.
The term process is an a.straction 9rom realit8. Someone or somethin! has to do the process.
The person or things involved in the process are called participants.
,n the sentence a.o)e, there are two participants: @,A and @the milkmanA. (9 course, the
milkman is not himsel9 participatin! knowin!l8 in this mental process o9 perception, and he is not
a99ected .8 m8 seein! him: he is the objective o9 m8 seein!, and in that sense he is a participant in m8
personal act o9 seein!.
,t is eas8 to make up a sentence in which the milkman is an active participant, either doin!
somethin! to a second participant, or .ein! himsel9 a99ected .8 the other participant, or simpl8 doin!
somethin! which does not in)ol)e a second participant:
=1>. The milkman deli)ered three pints 8esterda8.
1
The asterisk at the .e!innin! o9 a strin! o9 words marks the 9act that such a 9ormulation is de)iant, i.e. incorrect or
unlikel8 to occur in the ;n!lish lan!ua!e.
3
=2>. *e2t doorAs do! has .itten the milkman in the le!.
=3>. The milkman was sin!in! cheer9ull8.
=4>. This mornin!, the milkman said, @Three pints as usualDA
The )er.s @deli)eredA and @has .ittenA represent actional processes, i.e. thin!s which people
doE the )er.s @was sin!in!A and @saidA represent !er"al processes.
#s illustrated in sentences =1> to =4> a.o)e, there are one or more participants in a process. <ut
these sentences also include 9urther in9ormation ? a.out time =whenD>: yesterday, this morningE a.out
place =whereD>: in the leg, across the roadE a.out manner =howD>: cheerfully. These are the
circumstances in which the participant=s> took part in the process, and o9ten the8 !i)e additional
in9ormation which could .e le9t out without a99ectin! the !rammaticalit8 o9 the sentence =this means
that the sentence remains an accepta.le !rammatical ;n!lish sentence without the in9ormation a.out
the circumstances in which the process took place>:
=1F>. The milkman deli)ered three pints.
=2F>. *e2t doorAs do! has .itten the milkman.
=3F>. The milkman was sin!in!.
=4F>. The milkman said, @Three pints as usualDA
<ut what we o9ten cannot do is omit a participant without leaving an ungrammatical sentence
or changing the meaning:
B The milkman deli)ered.
B 1eli)ered three pints.
B *e2t doorAs do! has .itten.
B Has .itten the milkman.
B 'as sin!in!.
B Said, @Three pints as usualDA
Howe)er, this does not alwa8s work, as there are man8 )er.s representin! processes which can
operate .oth with and without a second participant. %or e2ample, @sin!A:
=5>. Gill san! a group of folk songs at the concert.
=$>. Gill san! at the concert.
4
Construction =5> is a transiti!e clause, .ecause the )er. @san!A is 9ollowed .8 a !rammatical
1irect (./ect =@a !roup o9 9olk son!sA>, and construction =$> is an intransiti!e clause, .ecause the
clause does not contain a 1irect (./ect.
,n the ne2t two sentences, the process represented .8 the )er.s @areA and @isA is neither an
actional nor a mental process. These words link or relate the participant 1 to a word or phrase which
descri.es an attribute or quality o9 this participant. #n attribute / quality is not a participant in a
processHHH
Participant 1 Process
#relational$
%ttri"ute Circumstances
The peas are hard and cold.
8 .asket is )er8 hea)8 now.
The term mental process is used as a la.el to co)er a ran!e o9 nonactional kinds o9 process,
9or e2ample, @admirin!A someone =a behavioural process>, @lookin! at somethin!A =a perceptive
process>, or @thinkin!A =a cognitive process>, and so on. ,t could also include @sa8in!A or @whisperin!A
somethin! =verbal processes>. These cate!ories o9 meanin! are Cuite comple2 =and will not .e
de)eloped an8 9urther 9or the moment>, .ut the di)ision o9 processes into actional, mental and
relational is a use9ul startin! point, pro)ided that these la.els are not taken too literall8.
7a.ellin! the participants simpl8 as participant 1 and participant 2 does not descripti)el8
di99erentiate the roles the8 pla8 in relation to the processes. #ll the first participants in the sentences
.elow who per9orm actional or mental processes are acting .8 doin! somethin!, so the8 can .e called
actors:
Participant 1 Process Participant 2 Circumstances
The milkman deli)ered =actional> three pints 8esterda8.
*e2t doorAs do! has .itten =actional> the milkman in the le!.
, like =mental> cheese.
He thinks =mental> o9 her e)er8 da8.
The participants in relational processes, howe)er, are not actuall8 doin! an8thin!, so their role
cannot .e that o9 actor. ,n 9act, the relational process itsel9 is little more than a link .etween the first
participant and the attribute.
The second participants are the persons or things that are affected .8 the action o9 the actor,
or the8 are the o"&ecti!e o9 a mental process.
#t this point, the relationships of meaning in a clause can .e represented as:
5
%ctor Process
+ actional
+ mental
+ relational
+ Affected or
+ Objective
or
+ Attribute
Circumstances
+ time
+ place
+ manner
1.'. Clauses
,n the sentence:
=1>. 'e pa8 9or all the thin!s and we .u8 some sweets.
the con/unction @andA links what could eCuall8 .e written as two sentences: @'e pa8 9or all the thin!s.
'e .u8 some sweets.A
Similarl8, the sentences =2> and =3> .elow could .e written as a sin!le sentence, =4>:
=2>. 'e walk down the street.
=3>. 'e !o to the supermarket.
( =4>. 'e walk down the street and we !o to the supermarket.
#s a conclusion, propositions =i.e. !rammatical units e2pressin! a complete thou!htE also
called simple sentences> can .e written and spoken as single sentences, or linked .8 the coordinati)e
con/unction @andA to 9orm longer sentences 0 compound sentences.
The pro.lem is that i9 a single proposition is processed in the !rammar as a simple sentence,
and 8et it is possi.le to link a whole series o9 them to!ether in a lon! compound sentence or in a
comple! sentence
2
, we ha)e to talk a.out sentences within sentences. ,t is help9ul, there9ore, to 9ind
another word 0 term to stand 9or the concept o9 a single proposition or simple sentence. The term
commonl8 used 9or this is clause.
*ow we can sa8 that:
+ # sentence consists o9 one or more clauses.
+ # clause consists o9 one or more phrases.
+ # phrase consists o9 one or more words.
+ # word consists o9 one or more morphemes.
2
# compound sentence contains coordinated simple sentencesE in a comple! sentence there are subordinated simple
sentences as well.
$
1.). The *an+ Scale
The s8stem o9 ;n!lish !rammar, which pro)ides a means o9 encodin! thou!hts and ideas into
speech and writin!, can .e descri.ed in terms o9 a ran+ scale, 9rom the lar!est to the smallest unit:
+ sentence
+ clause
+ phrase
+ word
+ morpheme
# simple sentence consists o9 one clause. There is no upper limit in the !rammar to the num.er
o9 clauses that can make up a lar!er compound or comple2 sentence, .ut in practice the st8le o9 speech
or writin! will determine this.
The clause is the central structure in the lan!ua!e, .ecause it represents a complete proposition,
somethin! that is stated or Cuestioned or reCuested and so on. ,ts meanin! is complete .ecause it
relates processes and participants to!ether.
;)idence 9or the importance o9 the clause as a proposition =a sel9+contained unit o9 meanin!>
can .e demonstrated 9rom in9ant speech. The 8oun! childrenAs 9irst reco!niIa.le @wordsA are in 9act
more like simple sentences than sin!le words in their meanin!. # @one+wordA utterance can onl8 .e
understood in its conte2t. @ilkA could mean @, want some milkA or @,A)e knocked m8 milk o)erA or @,
can see some milkA, and so on, dependin! on the e2tra+lin!uistic conte2t in which it is uttered. These
are all clauses.
1.,. -ow .eaning and /rammar %re *elated
(ne participant actor =i.e. someone or somethin! that acts> is essential 9or a process to take
place, in circumstances o9 time, place, or manner, as in the 9ollowin! clauses. The processes o9
@li)in!A, @/umpin!A, @!oin!A, @whistlin!A, @sin!in!A and @runnin!A in)ol)e onl8 one participant, who is
in)ol)ed as the actor:
%ctor Process Circumstances
(nce upon a time a little tailor li)ed in a little town.
# !reat .i! do! /umped out
and on the8 !o.
He was whistlin!
and sin!in!
with the !reat .i! do! runnin! at his heels.
,n other processes an actor does somethin! to, or affects, another person or thin!, the affected:
%ctor Process %ffected Circumstances
The tailor 9ound little work.
He put a clean shirt in his knapsack.
He slun! the knapsack o)er his shoulder.
&
The !reat .i! do! wa!!ed his tail.
, ha)e eaten e)er8 scrap o9 .read.
, can 9ind 9ood.
The terms actor affected and process are semantic terms, that is, the8 re9er to meaning.
%ctor and affected are roles pla8ed .8 people and thin!s. ,n the !rammar o9 the clause, the actor is
the S0123CT #S$ the process is the P*34IC%T5* #P$, the affected person or thin! is one kind o9
complement, usuall8 called 4I*3CT 5123CT #5d$, and the circumstance is the %4V3*1I%6,
also called %4207CT #%$. Complements are so called .ecause the8 make complete the meanin! o9
the Predicator.
Clauses with grammatical "irect #bjects =the affected person or thin!> are transiti!e #SP5$.
%or e2ample:
%ctor
as
S0123CT
Process
as
P*34IC%T5*
%ffected
as
5123CT
Circumstance
as
%4V3*1I%6
He swun! his 8ardstick round his head.
He .an!ed the ta.le with his 9ist.
The tailor ordered a meal.
He threw his knapsack on a .ench.
He seated himsel9 in an armchair.
Clauses without a grammatical "irect #bject are intransiti!e #SP$. %or e2ample:
%ctor
ss
S0123CT
Process
as
P*34IC%T5*
Circumstance
as
%4V3*1I%6
He marched into the ta)ern.
The host came =in a certain manner>
=the manner in which the host
came was $>
runnin! Cuickl8.
He was whistlin! loudl8.
'hen the clause is studied in more detail, it can .e noticed that this @one+to+one relationshipA
.etween meanin! and !rammar =i.e. actor $ %ubject, affected $ #bject> does not alwa8s occur.
S0123CT #S$ P*34IC%T5* #P$ 5123CT #5$ and %4V3*1I%6 #%$ are grammatical terms,
not semantic, i.e. the8 are labels for syntactic relationships .etween phrases, and their position in a
clause.
,n an unmarked clause
3
that makes a statement, like those a.o)e, the order o9 the clause
constituents is SP5% =or SV5%, accordin! to R. Juirk and Sidne8 "reen.aum in A &niversity
'rammar of (nglish, 7on!man, 1443>.
3
&nmarked here means stylistically unmarked, with no in)ersions, no emphases, no interruptions, etc.
3
The predicators that do not represent actional or mental processes, .ut relational processes,
9unction as links .etween the first participant and an attribute o9 this participant, as in:
+ The host was astonished.
+ The stick loo+ed short.
+ The o!re seemed )er8 9ierce.
The word @astonishedA descri.es an attribute o9 @the hostA, @shortA, an attribute o9 @the stickA,
and @)er8 9ierceA, an attribute o9 @the o!reA, and the8 all are another 9orm o9 complement to the
predicator. To distin!uish their 9unction 9rom (./ects in a clause, the8 are called I7T37SIV3
C5.P63.37TS #Ci$ =accordin! to 1ennis %ree.orn, A )ourse *ook in (nglish 'rammar, Second
;dition, acillan, 1445>, or S0123CT C5.P63.37TS
)
#Cs$ =accordin! to R. Juirk et al, op.
cit.> # 9ew other e2amples:
S P Ci or Cs
The host was astonished.
The stick looked short.
The o!re seemed very fierce.
The SK<G;CT C(P7;;*TS in these sentences could ha)e .een used as (1,%,;RS o9 the
nouns the8 re9er to, as the8 are ad/ecti)es =e.!. the astonished host, the short stick, the fierce o!re>, .ut
the SK<G;CT C(P7;;*T need not .e an ad/ecti)e:
S P Cs
Gohn was a young soldier.
He .ecame a king+s son.
,n these last two clauses, the SK<G;CT C(P7;;*TS @a 8oun! soldierA and @a kin!As sonA
identify or equate with the SK<G;CT, sa8in! who or what Gohn 0 he is. The8 are noun phrases =*P+s>
which de)elop the !rammatical 9unction o9 a Cs.
,n the 9ollowin! two clauses, the relationship is o9 a di99erent kind:
S P D
The 9ood was on the table.
# cord was in the knapsack.
Here, the phrases @on the ta.leA and @in the knapsackA tell us where the 9ood and the cord were,
respecti)el8, not what the8 are 0 were like, and so the8 are not attri.utes. Howe)er, the8 are essential to
complete the meanin! o9 their clauses. The8, there9ore, 9unction .oth as C(P7;;*TS and as
#16;R<,#7S, .ecause the clauses would not .e !rammaticall8 complete without them. The
4
The Romanian term 9or SK<G;CT C(P7;;*T is nume predicativ.
4
ad)er.ial kinds o9 phrase 9unctionin! as complements are called #16;R<,#7 C(P7;;*TS
=Ca> to show that the8 ha)e a dou.le 9unction. ,n other clauses the8 9unction as optional
@circumstanceA #16;R<,#7S =#>
5
:
S P 5 %
The tailor saw a stick on the table.
He was carr8in! his !oods in the knapsack.
1.8. 9orm and 9unction
,t is necessar8 to distin!uish .etween what a word 0 phrase is and what it does. The
correspondin! terms o9 form and function are used to re9er to this distinction. The forms and
functions o9 the words and phrases in the simple sentence @The tailor saw a stick on the ta.leA are
descri.ed in what 9ollows:
Word : Phrase form 907CTI57
the de9inite article 1;T;R,*;R =phrase
constituent>
tailor noun H;#1 word o9 *P1 =phrase
constituent>
the tailor 7P1 S0123CT #clause constituent$
saw !er" : Ver" Phrase #VP$ P*34IC%T5* #clause
constituent$
a inde9inite article 1;T;R,*;R =phrase
constituent>
stick noun H;#1 word o9 *P2 =phrase
constituent>
a stic+ 7P2 5123CT : 4I*3CT 5123CT
#clause constituent$
on preposition H;#1 o9 Prepositional Phrase
=PrepP> =phrase constituent>
the de9inite article 1;T;R,*;R =phrase
constituent>
ta.le noun H;#1 word o9 *P3
the ta.le *P3 C(P7;;*T o9 preposition
=phrase constitiuent>
on the ta"le PrepP %4V3*1I%6 #clause
constituent$
5
The Romanian term 9or the 9unction o9 #16;R<,#7 is complement circumstan,ial -de loc, timp, mod, etc..
15
@The tailorA, @a stickA and @the ta.leA ha)e the same 9orm as *Ps, .ut the8 each ha)e a di99erent
9unction in the clauses or phrases o9 which the8 are constituents. 6Ps, howe)er, alwa8s 9unction as the
PR;1,C#T(R o9 the clause, .e them finite or nonfinite.
$
75T3S;
1. The term P*34IC%T5* #P$ is used to distin!uish the function o9 this clause constituent,
althou!h it is alwa8s per9ormed .8 a 6P in a clause. Traditional and some contemporar8
!rammar .ooks use the word V3*1 9or .oth form and function. *e)ertheless, the
distinction .etween the formclass o9 an item and its function is a use9ul one to keep.
2. The term P*34IC%T5* must not .e con9used with the traditional cate!or8 o9 predicate
=the latter includes /0("1)AT#0, )#2/3(2(4T-%. and A"5(0*1A3-%>, i.e. all that
part o9 the clause which is not the SK<G;CT>.
3. Similarl8, a choice has to .e made .etween the 9unctional terms %4V3*1I%6 and
%4207CT #%$
<
, which are )irtuall8 interchan!ea.le in s8ntactic description.
4. The 9unctional term C5.P63.37T =C> is used somewhat di99erentl8 9rom traditional
!rammar. ,t is a super+ordinate term which includes the objects; "10()T #*6()T -#d.,
14"10()T #*6()T -#i., /0(/#%1T1#4A3 #*6()T -/rep#., and the intensive
complements: %&*6()T )#2/3(2(4T -)s., A"5(0*1A3 )#2/3(2(4T -)a.,
#*6()T )#2/3(2(4T -)o.
7
.
1.<. Word 5rder
The word order in a clause is an essential part o9 the !rammar o9 ;n!lish, and it is commonl8
illustrated .8 the di99erence in meanin! .etween @Gohn likes ar8A and the clause usin! the same
words in a di99erent order: @ar8 likes GohnA. #nother simple sentence
4
will demonstrate the wa8 in
which words and phrases chan!e their form, function and meaning, i9 written in a di99erent order:
7P and S0123CT VP and P*34IC%T5* 7P and 5123CT
The ducks crowd the stone.
The crowd stone the ducks.
The crowd ducks the stone.
,n these clauses, the words @ducksA, @crowdA and @stoneA are either nouns or verbs, 9unctionin! as
SK<G;CT, (<G;CT or PR;1,C#T(R, accordin! to their position / word order in each clause.
$
The finite )er.s are considered all the 9orms o9 the ,ndicati)e, o9 the Su./uncti)e, o9 the Conditional, and o9 the
,mperati)eE the non=finite 9orms: the ,n9initi)e, the "erund, and the Participle. ind that in the !rammar o9 the Romanian
lan!ua!e onl8 the finite 9orms are considered predicati)eH
&
This means that the student has to make a choice .etween the two terms and .e consistent in usin! it.
3
#ll these s8ntactic 9unctions will .e studied in more detail in the 9orthcomin! sections.
4
Remem.er that simple sentence and clause are s8non8mousH
11
SK#RL:
.eaning
#semantic
terminology$
Participant 1
%ctor
Process
= actional
= mental
= relational
Participant 2
= affected
= o"&ecti!e
5*
= attri"ute
Circumstance#s$
of time, place,
manner
/rammar
#syntactic
terminology$
S0123CT #S$ P*34IC%T5*
#P$
C5.P63.37T
#C$
= 5123CT; 5d
5i Prep5>
= I7T37SIV3
C5.P63.37T;
Cs Ca Co.
%4V3*1I%6
#%$; of time,
place, manner.
12