PHRASES

I> DEFINITION II> CLASSIFICATION II.1> NOUN PHRASE II.2> ADJECTIVE PHRASE II.3> VERB PHRASE II.4> ADVERB PHRASE II.5> PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

II> CLASSIFICATION
II.3> VERB PHRASE II.3.1> Structure
NOT+AUXILIARY(-IES)+HEAD VERB (LEXICAL VERB)

Modifiers= NOT & up to 4 auxiliary verbs E.g.: will have been being considered are of two types primary auxiliaries & modal auxiliaries.

II.3.2> Characteristics
Grammatical characteristics : tense, aspect, mood, voice, number, and person.

Tense
Kaplan (1989: 174): tense is grammatical expression of time relation, which is before, after or simultaneous with, between two events or situation. One of the two events/situations, the event/ situation the speaker talks about the narrated event, and the other event is often the event of speaking. past tense = narrated event occurring before the event of speaking present tense = narrated event being simultaneous with the event of speaking future tense = narrated event after the event of speaking.

 Aspect is a category used in the description of verbs which refers to the duration of the activity indicated by the verbs (Finch, 2000: 85), that is, how long it occurred for. 2 types of aspect: - progressive/continuous aspect = -ing form of the verb, indicates on-going activities e.g.: Im going for a walk. -perfective aspect = indeterminate time, usually in respect to an activity or condition which has present reference e.g. Ive left Saigon for ten years.

Aspect

 Mood refers to the way in which the verb expresses the attitude of the speaker toward the factual content of what is being communicated. 3 types of mood: - indicative expresses the factual meaning, e.g. Were going to the movies this evening - imperative expresses directive utterances those which direct someone to do something. e.g. Close the door command), Will you please close the door? (request) - subjunctive expresses wishes or conditions of a non-factual type, e.g. If I were him, I wouldnt let her go.

Mood

Voice
voice is a category used in grammatical description, with reference to the verb, to show the way a clause can change the relationship between subject and object without changing the basic meaning of the sentence (Crystal1999: 360). Subject is the agent (in relation to verb) active clause. Subject is the recipient of the action caused by the verb passive clause (transformation of a sentence from an active to a passive is termed as passivilization) E.g.: -The storm hit the central region. (active) -The central region was hit by the storm. (passive)

Number
is a grammatical category used for the analysis of word classes, especially nouns, which display the contrast such as singular and plural. English only distinguishes 1 (singular) and more than 1 referents (plural) for nouns. A particular form of a verb can tell the number of the referent of the subject which cooccurs with it. E.g.: present tense verbs which ends in -s always signify the singularity of their subject, so do the auxiliaries is, has, and does, e.g. She likes ice-cream, she is a teacher, Mary has finished the course, does Anne come from Canada?

Person
Person is a grammatical category referring to the number and nature of the participants in a situation. 3 persons: first person, second person, third person. E.g.: the auxiliary verb am signifies a singular first person subject I, the auxiliaries has, is , and does, and -s inflection always signify a singular third person subject, was shows the singularity of a subject which is either first person or third person, e.g. Was I wrong? He wasnt at Marys party last night.

II.3.3> Functions
2 types: finite verb phrase contains a finite form of the verb which shows characteristics of the verb phrase (tense, aspect, mood, voice) and of the subject with which it cooccurs (number, person) - non-finite verb phrase is the one that contains non-finite forms of the verb, e.g the infinitive form phrases, present participle form phrases, past participle form phrases

 Finite verb phrase: function as a verb assuming the role of predicate in a sentence -The child is sleeping. - I know a man who can help. Non-finite verb phrase: function as -adjunct to modify a whole sentence -She stopped and stood quietly in the dark, listening to the notes of a childhood memories arousing song (circumstance adjunct) -To understand them better, she submerged herself into the needy community (adjunct of purpose)

-SV: To live is to struggle. -SC: To live is to struggle. -DO: They told us to arrive soon.

DO -OC: He considered his favorite activity studying maths. OC -OP: They have the problem with satisfying customers needs. OP

- -Complement of noun: His offer to buy the whole lot was accepted CN (Complement of noun-a word group that behaves like a direct of the verb corresponding to the noun) -Post-nominal modifier: I know the man to answer this question Post-nominal modifier - Complement of adjective: He was hesitant to see her Complement of adjective

II.4> Adverb phrase II.4.1> Structure

PRE-MODIFIER(adverb)+HEAD ADVERB

E.g.: -extremely hard -totally differently -breath-takingly beautifully.

II.4.2>Functions
Adjunct: to provide circumstantial information about the action, process or event talked about in the clause in which they occur. Circums. info. includes info. about the place, time, manner, etc. of the action, process or event (Jackson, 1999: 25), E.g.: too late, just right there, highly proudly; Conjunct: connects one clause or sentence to another, E.g.: ., however, I still want to believe her

 Disjunct: refers to the expression of the speakers stance or attitude to what he is saying and reflect explicitly the way in which a speaker intends what he is about to say to be interpreted (Jackson, 1999: 26) E.g.: Honestly speaking, Ive given jobs to many people.

II.5> PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE II.5.1> Structure

PREPOSITION+NOUN PHRASE E.g.: - in the corner - inside the bottom of her heart

II.5.2> Functions
- adverbial to be adjunct and complement of adjective/postmodifier of adjective e.g. He whispers in a threatening tone (adjunct); afraid of spiders (post mod of adj) - nominal to be object of verb e.g. He looked at the studenthood photos - adjectival to be post nominal modifier e.g. It is an order from an out-of-town customer

III> Exercises