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Grammar for A-level English

Language
Dick Hudson
St Francis Xavier College, June 2008
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Plan
An animated description of basic sentence
structure
with some notation
A collection of interesting variations
with some terminology
A grammatical treasure hunt
in seven extracts

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The extracts
1. Grammar joke
2. The Owl and the Pussycat
3. Oliver Twist
4. Directgov: vehicle taxation
5. A grammarian's funeral (Browning)
6. The Sun: Blues warned off Kaka move
7. Northern Ireland Transcribed Corpus of Speech
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Basic sentence structure
verb make
noun
subject
noun
object
word
predicative
babies
parents
happy
Has a tense
S
T
O P
verb dependents
made
dependents
5
Hunt for
A verb with just one word as its subject and
no O or P or other dependent.
1: He arrives, and,
A sentence containing the verb BE three
times, with adjective or place adverb as P.
6: But signing Kaka is impossible, because he
is here at AC Milan and will be here until the
end of his career.
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adverb
Modifying a verb
verb make
noun
S
noun
word
babies
parents
happy
often preposition with
noun
smiles
O P
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Hunt for
A verb modified by a monosyllabic adverb
standing immediately before it.
4: Vehicles that are exempt from vehicle tax
still need to display a tax disc.
A verb with S, O and a following modifier,
each of which is just one word.
2: So they took it away, and were married next
day
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Modifying a noun
verb make
noun
S
noun
word
babies
parents
happy
O
P
adjective
preposition
healthy
with
the normal range of baby behaviour such as ..
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One alternative notation
Healthy babies with normal behaviour make parents happy.
S
O
P
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and another
Healthy babies with normal behaviour make parents happy.
S
O
P
phrase
clause
noun
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and another
Healthy babies with normal behaviour make parents happy.
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Phrases and clauses
A phrase is a group of words that depend
on one word.
That word is the phrases head.
The phrase can be classified according to its
head
e.g. noun phrase, preposition phrase
A phrase headed by a verb is called a
clause.

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Hunt for
no + adj + noun + preposition + the + noun
3: which I need not trouble myself to repeat, inasmuch
as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader
Nouns contrasted only by their preceding
adjectives and by this/that.
5: That low man seeks a little thing to do, /
Sees it and does it:/ This high man, with a great thing
to pursue, / Dies ere he knows it. (x 2)
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Predicatives
verb make
noun
S
noun
adjective
babies
parents
happy
O
P
verb cry
noun adults
preposition into adults
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Hunt for
Predicative = a noun modified by a
preposition
3: it remained a matter of considerable doubt
Predicative = a noun modified by an
adjective
4: If youre a disabled person,
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Verb chains
seem
We
S
to have
P
been
P
trying
P
to start
P
S
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Hunt for
A chain of three verbs: verb + not + verb +
verb
6: Kaka will not be heading to Stamford
Bridge
A chain of three verbs where the third verb
does not have the same subject as the others
7: I know I've heard tell,
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Six interesting variants
Subject-auxiliary inversion
Auxiliary contraction
Topicalisation
Subject delay
Postposing
Extraposition
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Subject-auxiliary inversion
is
S
P
He
ready. he
S
Verbs like is:
BE, HAVE, WILL, CAN, DO, ..
But NOT: GET, BECOME, TRY,
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Because it could be negative:
He ready.
he ready?
So we focus on truth.
Is he ready? = Is it true that hes ready?
Why put aux first?
Isnt
isnt is
Is
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Hunt for
inverted aux + S = if
5: That, has the world here should he need
the next,/ Let the world mind him!
ungrammatical inverted non-aux + S
So, with the throttling hands of death at strife,/
Ground he at grammar;
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Auxiliary contraction
is
S
It
P
mine.
s
Contractable: Most finite (past/present) auxiliaries
Purpose: to show lack of formality.
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How casual?
A matter of degree, not all or none.
We can contract some contractable
auxiliaries without contracting all of them.
Project: count contracted auxiliaries
as percentage of all contractables.
very good for practicing grammatical analysis!
Contraction is an issue in students own
writing.
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Hunt for
A text where all contractable auxils are contracted
5: hundreds |heres |heres|heres
A text where some auxils are contracted and some
arent.
1: he cant | cabbie is | I have |jokeologists have
4: that are |disk is |that will |youre |footways will
6: Milan have |Scolari is |Phil has| Kaka will not | Its
|Kaka is | he is
A contracted auxiliary with an object
7: he hadnt even a bicycle
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Topicalisation
rained
S
It yesterday
topic
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Hunt for
A verb that has two topics
2: And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon
A topic 29 words long
3: Among other public buildings in a certain
town, which for many reasons it will be
prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to
which I will assign no fictitious name, there is
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Negative topics and subj-aux inv
So do I.
No way am I going to
Not only did he
Only once did he
At no point did he


f
o
r
m
a
l
i
t
y

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Hunt for
so + inverted aux + S
7: the North Sea's bound to come to an end,
sooner or later, and so's the Arab places
negative topic + inverted aux + S
1: but never once have I heard it asked for
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Place topic and subject delay
sailed
a neat little yacht
into the harbour it
S
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Hunt for
A simple adverb + subject delay
5: heres the platform, heres the proper place
heres the top-peak
A prepositional phrase + subject delay
3: in this workhouse was born; on a day and
date which I need not trouble myself to repeat,
inasmuch as it can be of no possible
consequence to the reader, in this stage of the
business at all events; the item of mortality
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Subject delay and formality
Here comes your bus.
There are my gloves.
In the corner is an old oak tree.
In the corner stands an old oak tree.
From this observation arises another
concern.
f
o
r
m
a
l
i
t
y

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Postposing
put
We
it into the box
S
O
a bag
a bag
of jewels that we had found up
the chimney
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Hunt for
A postposed O following a preposition
phrase
2: 'Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one
shilling / Your ring?'
A postposed O following a simple adverb
1: you have brought home the punchline
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Extraposition from a noun
arrived
a letter
S
from the bank
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Hunt for
An extraposed preposition phrase
2: a Piggy-wig stood / With a ring at the end
of his nose
An extraposed relative clause that
4: A free tax disc is issued that will need to
be renewed each year.
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Extraposition with it
surprises
that he came so late
S
me
It
O
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Hunt for
Three examples of an extraposed clause
after it
3: which for many reasons it will be prudent to
refrain from mentioning
3: it remained a matter of considerable doubt
whether the child would survive
3: it is somewhat more than probable that
these memoirs would never have appeared

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Why deviate?
Focus on finiteness and truth
subject-auxiliary inversion
Put topic early, because its already in the
hearers mind.
topicalisation
Put heavy material late, to give the hearer
time to process it.
subject delay, postposing, extraposition
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Thank you
This slideshow is available at:
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/talks.htm#alel
For more on grammar in teaching:
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/education.htm#strategy