9. Phrases and sentences: grammar9.1 Grammar9.2 Grammatical description9.2.1 The parts of speechNouns, Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Pronouns, Conjunctions9.2.2 Traditional categoriesNumber, Person, Tense, V oice, Gender9.2.3 Traditional analysisThe prescriptive approachThe descriptive approach▪ Structural analysis▪ Immediate constituent analysis∙ Labeled and bracketed sentences∙ Hierarchical organization9.1 Grammarthe lucky boys– well-formed piece of English*1boys the lucky / *lucky boys the– ill-formed/ungrammatical piece of EnglishGrammar - a way of describing the structure of phrases and sentences which will account for all of the grammatical sequences and rule out all the ungrammatical sequences.Types of grammar❶‘me ntal gra mmar’-a form of internal linguistic knowledge which operates in the production and recognition of appropriately structured expressions in that language-is subconscious and is not the result of any teaching; deals with what goes on in people‟s mi nds -studied by psychologist❷‘linguistic etiquette’-the identification of the …proper‟ or …best‟ structures to be used in a language-has to do with people‟s social attitudes and values-studied by sociologist❸ grammar2✧-the study and analysis of the structures found in a language, usually with the aim of establishing a description of the grammar of English-concerned with the nature of language, often independently of the users of the language-studied by linguists9.2 Grammatical description9.2.1 The parts of speechThe lucky boys saw the clowns at the circus and the cheered loudly article adjective noun verb article noun preposition article noun conjunction pronoun verb adverb❶Nouns–words used to refer to people, objects, creatures, places, qualities, phenomena and abract ideas as if they were all …things‟❷ Adjectives– words used, typically with nuns, to provide more information about the …things‟referred to (happy people, large objects, cute creatures, stupid ideas)❸Verbs–words used to refer to various kinds of actions (run, jump) and states (be, seem)suddenly). Some adverbs (really, very) are also used with adjectives to modify the information about …things‟ (really large objects, very stupid ideas)⍓Preposition–words (at, in, on, near, with, without) used with nouns in phrases providing information about time (at five, in the morning), place (on the table, near the window) and other connections (with a knife, without a thought) involving actions and thingsPronouns–words (me, they, he, himself, this, it) used in place of noun phrases, typically referring to things already known (he likes himself, this is it!)Conjunctions–words (and, but, although, if) used to connect, and indicate relationships between, events and things (we swam although it was very cold)9.2.2 Traditional categoriesThese terms, used to label the grammatical categories of words in sentences, come from traditional grammar, which has its origins in the description of languages like Classical Latin and Greek.These categories can be discussed in isolation, but their role in describing language structure becomes clearer when we consider them in terms of agreement3.❶ Number– whether the noun is singular and plural❷ Person–first person (involving the speaker), second person (involving the hearer) and third person (involving any others)❸ Tense4–past tense, present tense⌧ Voice5– active voice & passive voice⍓ Gender6– natural gender & grammatical genderare usually described in terms of person and number.The boy likes his dog⑥ the verb likes agrees with the third person singular noun boy⑥ the verb likes is in the present tense, which is distinguished from the past tense (liked)⑥ the sentence is in the active voice, with the boy doing the liking; an alternative is the passive voice, in which the liking is done to the boy, as in The boy is liked by his doy.⑥his agrees with boy because of natural genderIn English, we have to describe the relationship of boy and his in terms of natural gender, mainly derived from a biological distinction between male and female.he, his– male entitiesshe, her – female entitiesit, its– sexless entities, or animals when the sex of the animal is irrelevantIn Spanish, German, and French, we use grammatical gender. Nouns are classified according to their gender class and, typically, articles and adjectives take different forms to …agree with‟ the gender of the noun.Spanish: el sol (…the sun‟) - masculine; la luna (…the moon‟) – feminineGerman: der Mond (…the moon‟) – masculine; die Sonne (…the sun‟) – feminine; das Feuer (…the fire) - neuter9.2.3 Traditional analysis❶The prescriptive approach规定式– an approach taken by some grammarians, mainly in 18th century England, who set out rules for the correct or …proper‟use of England. The structure of English sentences should be like the structure of sentences in Latin.⑥ You must not split an infinitive.⑥ You must not end a sentence with a preposition.Captain Kirk‟s infinitiveCaptain Kirk ( …Star Trek‟): To boldly go….In English, the correct one is to say To go boldly or Boldly to goIn Latin, infinitives are single words and just do not split, ire (…to go‟) audacter (…boldly‟)There are structures in English which differ from those found in Latin, rather than to say that the English forms are …bad‟ because they are breaking a supposed rule of Latin grammar.❷The descriptive approach 描写式-analysts collect samples of the language they are interested in and attempt to describe the regular structures of the language as it is used, not according to some view of how it should be used.-the basis of most modern attempts to characterize the structure of different languages.① Structural analysis-to investigate the distribution of form ( e.g. morphemes) in a language-the method employed involves the use of …test-frames‟ which can be sentences with empty slots in themThe ______ makes a lot of noise.I heard a _______ yesterday.★Forms which can fit into these slots to produce good grammatical sentences of English are donkey, car, dog, radio, child, etc.★ We can suggest that all of these forms fit in the same test-frame, they are likely to be examples of the same grammatical category –…noun‟_____ makes a lot of noise.I heard _____ yesterday.★Forms which can fit these test-frames are Cathy, Anna Banana, it, the dog, an old car, the professor with the Scottish accent, ect.★ We can suggest that these forms are likely to be examples of the same grammatical category –…noun phrase‟.By developing a set of test-frames of this type and discovering what forms fit the slots in the test-frames of this type and discovering what forms fit the slots in the test-frames, you can produce a description of (at least some) aspects of the sentence structures of a language②Immediate constituent analysis直接成分分析法-to show how small constituents (or components) in sentences go together to form larger constituentsHer father brought a shotgun to the wedding.Noun phrases: Her father, a shotgun, the weddingPrepositional phrase: to the weddingVerb phrase: brought a shotgun★ This type of diagram can be used to show the types of forms which can substitute for each other★ Labeled and bracketed sentences-to show how the constituents in sentence structure can be marked off via labeled bracketsBracketed analysis of the constituent structure of the sentence[ [ [The] [dog] ] [ [followed] [ [the] [boy] ] ] ]With this procedure, the different constituents of the sentence are shown at the word level [the], at the phrase level [the boy], and at the sentence level [The dog followed the boy].Label each constituent with grammatical terms…A rt‟ = article…N‟ = noun…NP‟ = noun phrase…V‟ = verb…VP‟ = verb phrase…S‟ = sentence⑥ A English sentenceLabeled and bracketed analysis of the constituent structure of the sentenceS[ NP[ Art[The] N[dog] VP[ V[followed] NP[ Art[the] N[boy] ] ] ]Hierarchical organization of the constituentsSNP VPNPArt N V Art N[ [ [The] [dog] ] [ [followed] [ [the] [boy] ] ] ]In this hierarchy, the sentence is higher than, and contains, the noun phrase. The noun phrase is higher than, and contains, the noun.⑥ A Gaelic sentenceEnglish: …saw; …the‟…boy‟…the‟…dog‟…black‟SNP NPV Art N Art N Adj[ [Chunnaic] [ [an] [gille] ] [ [an] [cu] [dubh] ] ]The aim of the immediate constituent analysis is-to make explicit, via the diagram, what we believe to be the structure of grammatical sentences in a language;-to describe clearly how English sentences are put together as combinations of phrases which, in turn, are combinations of words;-to understand why a Spanish learner of English produces phrases like *the wine white (instead of the white wine), using a structural organization of constituents which is possible in Spanish, but not in English.1* asterisk星号，星标Linguistics An asterisk used to indicate an unattested sound, affix, or word.【语言学】用于表明未被证实的音，词缀或词的星号* is a conventional way of indicating that a structure is ill-formed, or ungrammatical2grammar1. The study of how words and their component parts combine to form sentences.文法学：对词以及其组成部分如何结合以形成句子的研究2. The study of structural relationships in language or in a language, sometimes including pronunciation, meaning, and linguistic history.语法学：对语言间或一种语言内部的结构关系的研究，有时包括语音，语义或语言史3. The system of inflections, syntax, and word formation of a language.语法，文法：一种语言的字尾变化，句法和单词构成的体系4. The system of rules implicit in a language, viewed as a mechanism for generating all sentences possible in that language.语法规则：隐含在一种语言中的规则体系，被看作在该语言中生成所有可能的语句的机制3agreement呼应，一致Grammar Correspondence in gender, number, case, or person between words.【语法】词之间性、数、格和人称的一致，呼应4tense时态Any one of the inflected forms in the conjugation of a verb that indicates the time, such as past, present, or future, as well as the continuance or completion of the action or state.指示时间如过去、现在或将来，或指示动作或状态的持续或完结的动词的各种曲折变化形式的任何一种语法中动词的屈折变化形式，用以表达所述事情发生的时间与叙述者说话的时间之间的关系。
