Lecture 1 Grammatical HierarchyHierarchy is one of the basic properties of a language. On the grammatical level, the structure of the English language can be divided into five ranks: morpheme, word, phrase, clause, and sentence, while on the textual level, into three ranks: sentence, sentence group, and text. Sentence is the highest rank in grammatical hierarchy, and the lowest rank on the textual level. The following is a brief description of the grammatical hierarchy of the English language.1.1 MorphemesA morpheme is the smallest meaning-carrying grammatical unit. It falls into two categories: free morphemes and bound morphemes.1) Free morphemesA free morpheme has a complete meaning and can stand by itself as a simple word. It can sometimes act as a complete utterance in connected speech. Chair, boy, desk, and cruelare free morphemes. A free morpheme can be the root of a derivative, such as kindly, friendliness.2) Bound morphemesBound morphemes are mostly affixes. They are also meaningful, but the meaning is not complete in itself unless it is attached to some other form. Therefore, a bound morpheme cannot stand by itself: it only exists as an affix or a combining form.The affix can be divided into two types: inflectional and derivational. Inflectional affixes include: plural –s/-es, possessive –’s, third person singular-s/-es, past –ed, participle –ing, participle –ed, comparative –er, and superlative –est. Derivational affixes can be further divided into prefixes and suffixes, such as anti-war, co-exist, movement, and careless. The use of an inflectional affix does not change the identity of a word, but that of a derivational affix usually results in a new lexeme.Bound morphemes can also be combining forms, which can act as bound root to form primitive derivatives, such as receive, conceive, and perceive. They can also be used together with other combining forms or words to form compound words or neo-classical compounds, such as minibus, miniskirt, biology, telescope, and electrocardiogram.1.2 WordsThe word is composed of one or more than one morpheme. Words can be classified in two ways:1) Simple words, derivatives & compoundsWords that are composed of one morpheme only are called simple words. art, joy, kind, up, down, hand, foot and able, for example, are simple words.Words that are formed by adding an affix to an existing word are called derivatives. For example, interference, unhelpful, driver, management, unfair, disloyal, and nonviolent are derivatives.A word formed by combining two or more bases is called a compound. For example, whichever, snowfall, downfall, bookcase, home-made, tax-free and babysitting.2) Closed-class words & open-class wordsIn terms of syntactic function, words can be classified into closed-class words and open-class words. Closed-class words refer to those sets of words whose items are “closed” or limited in number and are only exceptionally extended by the creation of additional numbers. In English, function words such as auxiliaries, conjunctions and prepositions are closed-class words.Open-class words refer to those sets of words whose items are indefinitely extendable. New items are constantly being created and old items are giving place to new ones. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs form open-class words.1.3 PhrasesThe phrase is composed of one or morethan one word. Generally, the phrase is a group of words organized in a specific way with a key word as its head. The head determines the class of the phrase and the way in which the words are organized.1) The noun phraseThe noun phrase is a phrase with a noun as its head. The general pattern of a noun phrase is :(determiner+) (premodifier+) noun (+ postmodifier)a pretty little girl standing at the doorall the wooden cottages that have survived the earthquake2) The verb phraseThe verb phrase which is a phrase with a main verb as its head can be simple or complex. A simple verb phrase is just a main verb or “modifier + main verb”. A complex verb phrase is a main verb preceded by an auxiliary (or auxiliaries) (+modifier). For example:He works hard.He has been working on the project for two weeks.In the first example, “works” is a simple verb phrase; and in the second example, “has been working” is a complex verb phrase.In terms of grammatical form, a verb phrase can be finite or non-finite. A finite verb phrase is initiated by a finite form, that is, a verb that bears tense distinction. A non-finite verb phrase is a phrase initiated by a non-finite form, that is, a verb that does not change its form according to tense or subject.3) The adjective phraseThe adjective phrase is a phrase with an adjective as its head. The general pattern of an adjective phrase is:(modifier+) adjective (+postmodifier/complementation)The course is not very difficult.You are not careful enough.The weather is too hot to be enjoyable.4) The adverb phraseThe adverb phrase is a phrase with an adverb as its head. The general pattern of an adverb phrase is:(modifier+) adverb (+postmodifier)Be a man. Don’t act so slowly.She spoke very clearly indeed.He lives very far from the station.5) The prepositional phraseThe prepositional phrase is a phrase with a preposition as its head. The general pattern of a prepositional phrase is:(modifier+) preposition + complementation That story is based on an incident in his own life.Food had been scarce since before the war.He has been working in the lab all through the night.I could hear their footsteps directly above my head.1.4 ClausesThe clause is composed of one or morethan one phrase. A full-fledged clause is structurally a sequence of phrases and logically a construction of “subject + predicate”.1) Independent and dependent clausesIn terms of grammatical function, a clause can be independent or dependent. An independent clause is a clause that can stand by itself and act as a complete utterance, as distinguished from a dependent clause, which forms only part of another clause or of a phrase.He knows everything about it. (independent)I am sure he knows everything about it. (dependent)2) Simple and complex clausesWhen a clause consists of only one construction of “subject + predicate”, it is a simple clause. An independent simple clause is at the same time a simple sentence. When a clause comprises another clause or otherclauses as its element or elements, it is a complex clause. An independent complex clause is at the same time a complex sentence.It was not true. (simple)What he said was not true. (complex) 3) Main and subordinate clausesIn a complex clause, the clause that takes another clause as its element is the main clause, while the clause that is embedded in a large clause, either as a clause element or as part of a phrase which realizes a clause element, is a subordinate clause, e.g.:She wouldn’t believe it (m ain) though it was true (subordinate).If winter comes(subordinate), can Spring be far behind (main)?4) Finite, non-finite and verbless clausesA clause can be finite or non-finite. A finite clause is one with a finite verb phrase as its predicate verb or predicator; a non-finite clause is one with a non-finite verb as its predicator. For example:He barely ate or slept that night. (finite clause)He began paging through old newspapers, hoping to find some valuable information. (non-finite clause)When a clause is marked by the absence of any form of verb element, it is a verbless clause. A verbless clause is a “subject + predicate” construction with the verb element omitted, e.g.:When in Rome, do as the Romans do.1.5 SentencesThe sentence is the highest rank of grammatical unit. Based on one or more than one clause, the sentence is also the basic linguistic unit of connected discourse; it can stand alone and perform a function in social communication. Thus, a sentence can be defined as a grammatical unit that can stand by itself and perform a communicative function.1) Full and minor sentencesA full sentence is a sentence with anexpressed subject and predicate. It is mostly used in formal speech and writing. A minor sentence is only a sentence fragment which, in some specific contexts and situations, can stand by itself and perform a communicative function. Minor sentences, which are extensively used in informal discourse, can also be used to emphasize an idea, add force to an emotion or help build up to a climax at the beginning or the end of a paragraph. For example:Charlie Chaplin was the great comedian of silent films. (full)Where does Joan begin a mystery story? On the last page. Always. (minor)2) Simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentencesA simple sentence is a sentence that comprises only one independent clause. Two or more coordinated independent clauses make a compound sentence. An independent clause that comprises one or more dependent clausesas its element(s) makes a complex sentence. Two or more coordinated independent clauses with at least one complex clause make a compound-complex sentence. For example: The bull charged straight at the man. (simple)She is a funny girl, yet you can’t help liking her. (compound)How it all happened is a mystery to me. (complex)As I had limited time, I didn’t read the last chapter, yet I still enjoy the book. (compound-complex)。
