How We Use

ENGLISH
 1
The
Clause

IT is the meaning conveyed by a clause that can be argued about.

We can affirm or deny it, doubt or contradict it and so on. Look at
this example:
A : Azim Premji is the richest person in India.
B : Yes, he is.
or
No, he is not.
or
Is he?
or
Perhaps he is.
To A’s assertion, B may respond with any of the above. Hence, in
order to explore grammar as a communicative resource, it is
necessary to study how the clause is organised to enable us to express
different kinds of meaning to satisfy our communicative needs.
Look at the following pairs of sentences and pay attention to
the differences of meaning expressed by using different words
and/or by organising words differently.
(i) Anita bought this book. – Zareena bought this book.
(ii) Anita bought this book. – Anita borrowed this book.
(iii) Anita bought this book. – Anita did not buy this book.
(iv) Anita bought this book. – Did Anita buy this book ?
(v) Anita bought this book. – What did Anita buy ?
(vi) Anita bought this book. – Anita should have bought this book.
(vii) Anita bought this book. – The book was bought by Anita.
(viii) Anita bought this book. – It was Anita who bought this book.
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KNOWING ABOUT ENGLISH

Have you been able to distinguish the meanings? Let’s see

how this is achieved.
(i) – The sentences of this pair describe two different events or
activities performed by two different persons.
(ii) – The sentences of this pair describe two different events or
activities performed by the same person.
(iii) – Sentence one of this pair affirms the proposition while two
negates it.
(iv) – Sentence one of this pair affirms the proposition while two
questions it.
(v) – Sentence one of this pair provides some information while
two asks for it.
(vi) – Sentence one of this pair states a fact while two expresses
a necessity.
(vii) – The sentences of this pair describe the same event or
activity in two different ways.
(viii) – The sentences of this pair also describe the same event or
activity in two different ways.
These meanings can be grouped under the following major heads.
1. Experiential meaning
2. Interpersonal meaning
3. Textual meaning

EXPERIENTIAL MEANING
We use language to talk about what goes on around as well as
inside us and to describe it in terms of processes and participants.
It is this kind of meaning that people have in mind when they talk
about “what a sentence means”. Our sentences of pairs (i) and (ii)
belong here.

INTERPERSONAL MEANING
We also use language to interact with people, to establish and
maintain relations, to give and ask for information, to express our
judgments and attitudes and ascertain theirs about such things
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THE CLAUSE

as likelihood, necessity and desirability of actions. Our sentences of

pair (iii) to (vi) exemplify this function.

TEXTUAL MEANING
When we use language we organise clauses in such a way that they
fit smoothly into the context in which they are used. Our sentences
of pairs (vii) and (viii) belong here.
In order to see how language is organised to realise these
functions we will have to interpret clauses and their grammatical
constituents — phrases — in terms of functional categories. Look
at this sentence:
The chief guest will give each winner a gold medal in this function.
Its grammatical structure contains four noun phrases — the
chief guest, each winner, a gold medal and this function — one
before the verb phrase, two after it and one in the prepositional
phrase after the preposition in. But if we look at the structure
from a functional point of view we find that it contains a subject —
the chief guest, a direct object — a gold medal, an indirect
object — each winner and an adjunct — the prepositional phrase,
in this function.
Before going any further, we will have to see what these
functional categories are and how far they influence the total
meaning of the clause.
The functional categories that we need to identify in the structure
of the clause are: subject, object, complement, adjunct, finite and
main verb.

Subject
The first noun phrase, which includes pronouns, and precedes a
verb, usually functions as subject. But certain kinds of clauses
can also function as subjects. These include that clauses,
wh- clauses, infinitive clauses and participle clauses.
(i) The train was late by an hour and a half.
(ii) That he will get a berth is certain.
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KNOWING ABOUT ENGLISH

(iii) Why she left the job is a mystery.

(iv) To finish the work in time seems impossible.
(v) Working with those people was a real pleasure.
In statements, the subject is normally the noun phrase (or the
noun clause), which immediately precedes the verb phrase, as in
all the above examples.

Objects
Grammatical structures that can function as subjects can also
function as objects. They come after the verb phrase and can
function as subjects in passive voice clauses.
(i) Prakshi ate an apple.
An apple was eaten by Prakshi.
(ii) She has written another interesting novel.
Another interesting novel has been written by her.
(iii) He affirmed that he would be able to finish in time.
That he would be able to finish in time was affirmed by him.
(iv) Nobody knows how he earns his living.
How he earns his living is not known.
Some clauses, as in our earlier example, have two objects — an
indirect object and a direct object. The indirect object comes before
the direct object. And though both of them can function as subjects
in a passive voice clause, when the direct object is moved to the subject
position, the indirect object needs a preposition to or for before it.
(i) The chief guest will give the teams their trophies.
(ii) The teams will be given their trophies by the chief guest.
(iii) Their trophies will be given to the teams by the chief guest.

Adjuncts
Adverb phrases and prepositional phrases performing adverbial
function are generally used as adjuncts. Most often it is possible to
omit them without making the clause ungrammatical.
We met her in the town last Sunday.
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THE CLAUSE

Complements
Look at this sentence:
They seemed a happy couple.
Its grammatical structure contains two noun phrases — they and
a happy couple — of which the first one — they — is the subject but
the other — a happy couple — which comes after the verb phrase is
not an object because it cannot function as subject — *A happy couple
was seemed by them is not an acceptable sentence in English. Linking
verbs like look, seem etc. as well as the forms of be and have take
complements instead of objects. Complements cannot function as
subjects in passive voice clauses. And they can be realised by noun
phrases, noun clauses, adjective phrases and prepositional phrases.
(i) These flats have three bedrooms.
(ii) Achieving the target looks impossible.
(iii) He is on our mailing list.
(iv) He is what circumstances have made him.
(v) It seems that we are on the right course.

Finite and Main Verb

From the functional point of view it is necessary to identify the finite
and the main verb in the structure of the verb phrase. Look at the
following sentence.
By this July, I will have been living in this house for forty years.
The head of the verb phrase, which is the last word in it —
living in the above example — is also the main verb and carries
the lexical meaning. And the first word of the verb phrase — will
in the above example — is the finite, which carries the tense as
well as agrees with the subject in number and person. The rest
are auxiliaries, which are required to specify aspect — progressive
and perfect — and voice. In case there are only two words in the
verb phrase, the first is the finite and the second is the main verb.
In certain tenses — present simple and past simple — there is just
one word in the verb phrase. This functions both as the finite as
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KNOWING ABOUT ENGLISH

well as the main verb. We say that the finite and the main verb
have fused.
(i) The Rajdhani runs on time.
(ii) They finished their work early.
(iii) The teacher explained the concept with examples.
(v) She lives in a rented apartment.
With the help of these and some other functional categories, the
clause simultaneously conveys the three kinds of meaning listed
above. The existential meaning is conveyed through the grammatical
system of transitivity in which the main verb plays a pivotal role.
The interpersonal meaning is conveyed through the grammatical
system of mood and modality in which the subject-finite
combination plays an important role. The textual meaning is
conveyed through the system of Given and New (Theme and Rhyme).
We will come back to these after discussing the noun phrase in
some detail.