HANDOUT #1

❖ Section 1: Major and Minor Word Classes. Parts of

Speech

Major Word Classes:

• These classes are considered "major" because they carry the bulk of the meaning in a
sentence.
• They are also "open" classes, meaning new words can be added to these categories
over time (e.g., new nouns like "selfie," new verbs like "google").

o Nouns:
▪ Semantically, nouns name persons, places, things, or ideas.

▪ Structurally, they can have endings like "-ness" (e.g., "sadness") and
can change form to show plural ("cat" to "cats") or possession ("cat's").
They are often preceded by determiners like "the" or "a."

▪ Functionally, nouns can act as the subject of a sentence, the direct

object, indirect object, and several other roles.

▪ Examples:
▪ Subject: " The student studied grammar."

▪ Direct object: "The professor taught the students."

o Verbs:
▪ Verbs express actions or states of being.

▪ They have different forms to indicate tense (e.g., "study," "studied,"

"will study").

▪ Functionally, they form the core of the predicate in a sentence.

▪ Examples:

▪ Action verb: "The student studied."

▪ State of being verb: "The student is diligent."

o Adjectives:
▪ Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns.

▪ They often precede the noun they modify (e.g., "the diligent student")
or follow a linking verb (e.g., "The student is diligent.")

▪ Example: "The interesting essay"

o Adverbs:
▪ Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
 ▪ They often provide information about how, when, where, or to what
extent.

▪ Examples: "speaks passionately" , "now"

Minor Word Classes:

• These classes are "minor" because they primarily serve to structure

sentences.
• They are "closed" classes, meaning new words are rarely added.
• These are also called "structure" or "function" words.

o Pronouns:
▪ Pronouns replace nouns or noun phrases.

▪ Examples: "he", "she", "it", "they", "I", "you", "mine", "herself",

"someone".

o Determiners:
▪ Determiners specify or identify nouns.

▪ Examples: "the", "a", "an", "this", "that", "my", "some", "many".

o Prepositions:
▪ Prepositions show relationships between nouns/pronouns and other
words in the sentence (e.g., location, direction, time).

▪ Examples: "in", "on", "at", "to", "from", "with", "by".

o Conjunctions:
▪ Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses.

▪ Examples: "and", "but", "or", "because", "although", "while".

❖ Section 2: Sentence Patterns

• This section details the basic structures of sentences, using specific

terminology and symbols:
o S = Subject, V = Verb element, O = Object (direct or indirect), C =
Complement, A = Adverbial.
o NP = Noun Phrase, VP = Verb Phrase, AP = Adjective Phrase, AdvP =
Adverb Phrase, PP = Prepositional Phrase.
o Parentheses ( ) indicate optional elements.
Pattern 1: S + V
o Intransitive verb (no direct object).
o Example: "The freshmen / were smiling / (on their first day)."
 Pattern 2: S + V + O
o Monotransitive verb (takes a direct object).
o Example: "My classmate / has written / an interesting essay."
Pattern 3: S + V + Oi + Od
o Ditransitive verb (takes both an indirect and a direct object).
o Example: "University life / offers / every single student / many
opportunities for entertainment."
Pattern 4: S + V + C
o Copulative/linking verb (connects the subject to a complement).
o Examples:

▪ "He / was / a classmate of mine." (Complement is a noun phrase)

▪ "Most of my classmates / seem / smart." (Complement is an
adjective phrase)
Pattern 5: S + V + A
o Intransitive or copulative verb with an obligatory adverbial.
o Example: "The visiting teacher / lives / in Mendoza."
Pattern 6: S + V + Od + Co
o Complex transitive verb (direct object and object complement).
o Example: "Many people / consider / English Grammar / very interesting."
Pattern 7: S + V + Od + A
o Complex transitive verb with an adverbial.
o Example: "I / am going to put / my stuff / on the desk."

❖ Section 3: Overview of Different Perspectives on Grammar. Definition of Grammar

• Key Dichotomies:

✓ Prescriptivism vs. Descriptivism:

▪ Prescriptivism: Grammar as a set of rules for how language

should be used.
▪ Descriptivism: Grammar as a description of how language is
actually used.
✓ Formalism vs. Functionalism:
 ▪ Formalism: Grammar as an autonomous system of rules.
▪ Functionalism: Grammar as a system that emerges
from communication and cognition.
Perspectives on Grammar:

o Traditional Grammar:
▪ Prescriptive and Formalist.
▪ Focuses on rules, correctness, parts of speech, and syntax.
▪ Example: Insisting on "It is I" instead of "It's me" in formal
contexts.
o Structural Grammar:

▪ Descriptive and Formalist.

▪ Focuses on the relationships between linguistic elements and
patterns of language.
▪ Example: Analyzing how words can be substituted in a
sentence to reveal its structure.
o Generative-Transformational Grammar:

▪ Descriptive and Formalist.

▪ Views grammar as an innate system that generates sentences
through rules.
▪ Example: Chomsky's focus on the underlying structure of
sentences, even if they are nonsensical.

o Functional Grammar:

▪ Descriptive and Functionalist.

▪ Considers grammar as a tool for communication, shaped by
social context.

▪ Example: Analyzing how passive voice is used to achieve

specific communicative goals.
o Cognitive Grammar:

▪ Descriptive and Functionalist.

▪ Views grammar as based on human cognition and
conceptualization.
▪ Example: Studying how metaphors influence grammatical
structures.
 HANDOUT #2

❖ Section 1: Verbal Forms: Finite and Non-finite

• Verb Forms:
o English verb has five forms:
▪ Base form: The basic form of the verb (e.g., work, drink).
▪ -S form: Used in the present tense with a third-person singular
subject (e.g., works, drinks).
▪ Past form: Used to indicate past tense (e.g., worked, drank).
▪ -ing participle: The present participle, used in progressive tenses
(e.g., working, drinking).
▪ -ed participle: The past participle, used in perfect tenses and
passive voice (e.g., worked, drunk).
o Regular verbs have the same form for the past tense and the past
participle (e.g., "worked"). Irregular verbs have varied forms (e.g., "be,
am, is, are, was, were, being, been").
• Finite Verb Phrases:

Finite verb phrases are characterized by:

▪ Tense distinction (present or past).
Example: "My friend studies every day." (present tense) "We studied the sentence
patterns last week." (past tense)

▪ Occurrence as the main verb phrase of a main clause.

▪ Subject-verb agreement (concord).
Example: "He arrives early..." "Some students arrive late..."

▪ Mood (indicative, imperative, subjunctive).

→ Indicative: "Students study English grammar..."
→ Imperative: "Study the basic sentence patterns..."
→ Subjunctive: "The professor suggested that students study complex topics..."
→ A finite verb form (operator, simple present, or past tense form)

Example: "We should study..." "My friend studies..." "We studied..."

 • Non-Finite Verb Phrases:

▪ Non-finite verb forms are the infinitive, -ing participle, and -ed participle.
▪ Non-finite verb phrases use these forms as the first or only word.
▪ They do not typically occur as the main verb phrase of a main clause.
Example: " To drink water is healthy." "He is having a drink." "The cocktails drunk
at that bar..."

❖ Section 2: The Structure of the Verb Phrase

• Verb Phrase Components:

o A verb phrase (VP) consists of auxiliaries (optional) and a main verb (MV).
o VP → (Aux) + MV
o A VP can have no auxiliaries or up to four.
Example: "My friend celebrates..." (no auxiliaries)

"The guests might arrive..." (one auxiliary)

"Junior students might have shown..." (two auxiliaries)

"By midnight, the waiters will have been working..." (three auxiliaries)

"The host may have been being interviewed..." (four auxiliaries)

• Verb Combinations:

o When multiple verbs are in a phrase, they combine in specific ways:

▪ Modal + bare infinitive (A): "She can sing..."
▪ Have + past participle (Perfective) (B): "She has sung..."
▪ Be + -ing form (Progressive) (C): "She was singing..."
▪ Be + past participle (Passive) (D): "Several sad songs were sung..."

o Auxiliaries have a fixed order: modal - have - be - be.

▪ Aux → (modal) (have) (be) (be)

o These combinations can be expanded:

▪ A + B: "She will have recorded..."

▪ A + C: "They may be recording..."

▪ B + C: "They have been playing..."
 ▪ B + D: "They have been given..."
▪ A + B + C + D: "The guests should have been being helped..."

❖ Section 3: Syntactic Classification of Verbs

• This section categorizes verbs based on their function in a sentence.

• The classification includes:

o Full/Lexical Verbs: These are main verbs like "eat," "walk," and "write."
o Auxiliaries: Helping verbs.
▪ Primary auxiliaries: "be," "do," "have."
▪ Modal auxiliaries: "can," "may," "shall," "will," "must," "need."
▪ Marginal modal auxiliaries: "used to," "ought to," "dare."

o Modal Idioms: Phrases that function like modals, such as "had better,"
"would rather."
o Semi-auxiliaries: Expressions like "be able to," "be going to."
o Catenatives: Verbs that form chains, such as "appear to," "seem to,"
"keep (on)."

• The "operator," which is the first auxiliary in a verb phrase or, if

there's no auxiliary, the finite verb itself, and it plays a key role in questions,
negation, etc.

❖ Section 4: Lexical Verbs: Syntactic Classification

Verbs are classified as:

→ Extensive Verbs:

✓ Intransitive: These verbs do not take an object.

o They follow patterns like S + V or S + V + A (Adverbial).

o Examples: "appear," "drive," "go," "smile," "laugh," "cry."
o Some intransitive verbs require an adverbial, such as "live," "go," "lie."
 ✓ Transitive: These verbs take at least one object.

They follow patterns like:

I. S + V + O (Monotransitive): Takes one direct object. Example: "blame," "believe,"
"buy."
II. S + V + O + O (Ditransitive): Takes a direct and an indirect object. Example:
"tell," "show," "give."
III. S + V + O + C (Complex Transitive): Takes a direct object and a complement.
Example: "paint," "make," "consider."
IV. S + V + O + A (Complex Transitive): Takes a direct object and an adverbial.
Example: "keep," "put," "place."

→ Intensive (Copulative) Verbs:

o These verbs link the subject to a complement (S + V + C).
o The complement can be an adjective phrase (AP) or a noun phrase (NP).

Examples include verbs of:

I. Appearance: "appear," "seem," "look."
II. Senses: "taste," "sound," "feel," "smell."
III. Action (processes): "turn," "grow," "get," "go."
IV. "Become"
V. "Stay" and "remain"

❖ Section 5: Concepts of Time, Tense, Aspect, Mood, and Voice

• Time:

o Time is a non-linguistic concept; it's a universal continuum.

o It's the chronological measurement of events, existing
independently of language.
o We perceive time as past, present, and future.
o Example: The concept of "yesterday" (past), "now" (present), and
"tomorrow" (future) are time references.
• Tense:

o Tense is a grammatical category. Languages encode time differently.

o Tense is realized morphologically (through verb forms).
o English has only two tenses:
 → Present Tense:
• Example: "I walk to school." "She walks to school."
• It can express present actions, habitual actions, general truths, etc.
→ Past Tense:

• Example: "I walked to school yesterday."

• It indicates actions or states that occurred before the moment of speaking.
 It's important to note that English does not have a future tense. Future time
reference is expressed using modals ("will," "shall"), "be going to," present
progressive with future meaning, etc.
Example: "I will go to the store later." "I am going to visit my family next week."
• Aspect:

o Aspect is also a grammatical category.

o It expresses how an event or action is regarded or experienced in
terms of time.
o It doesn't pinpoint when something happens, but rather its
duration, completion, or progression.
o English has two main aspects:
→ Progressive Aspect:

• Formed with "be" + -ing participle.

• It indicates that an action is in progress or ongoing.
• Example: "I am studying right now." "They were eating dinner when I called."
→ Perfect Aspect:

• Formed with "have" + -ed participle.

• It indicates that an action is completed or has a result that is relevant to a later
time.
• Example: "I have finished my work." "She had already left when we arrived."

• Mood:

o Mood expresses the speaker's attitude towards the proposition.

o It indicates the function of the verb in a clause.
o English has three moods:
→ Indicative Mood:
Used for statements of fact or opinions. It's the most common mood.
▪ Example: "The sun shines." "I believe it will rain."
 → Imperative Mood:

▪ Used for commands, requests, or instructions.

▪ The subject is usually implied (you).
▪ Example: "Close the door." "Please be quiet."
→ Subjunctive Mood:

▪ Used for hypothetical situations, wishes, suggestions, or demands.

▪ Example: "I suggest that he be present." "If I were you, I would study
harder."

• Voice

o Voice indicates the relationship between the subject and the action of the verb.
o English has two voices:
→ Active Voice:

• The subject performs the action.

• Example: "The dog chased the cat." (The dog is the actor)

→ Passive Voice:

• The subject receives the action. The actor may be specified with "by," or omitted.

• Formed with "be" + -ed participle.

• Example: "The cat was chased by the dog." "The window was broken." (The actor
is implied)

❖ Section 6: The Subjunctive Mood

• Subjunctive Uses:

The subjunctive mood is used in specific contexts, often expressing:

 Hypothetical situations: Conditions that are contrary to fact or unlikely.
 Wishes: Desires that may not be fulfilled.
 Suggestions, recommendations, or demands: In clauses after verbs of
suggesting, recommending, etc.
 Formal or fixed expressions: Certain set phrases.

• Types of Subjunctive Forms:

o English subjunctive forms can be categorized as:

 → Present Subjunctive:
o Uses the base form of the verb (no -s for third person singular).
o Example: "The judge insisted that he tell the truth." "It is essential that
everyone be on time."

Common contexts:
• That-clauses after verbs expressing demands, suggestions, etc. (e.g.,
"suggest," "recommend," "insist").
• Formal expressions (e.g., "Come what may," "God save the Queen").
• In "it is + adjective + that" clauses (e.g., "It is important that he be present.")

→ Past Subjunctive:
o Identical to the past tense form of the verb, except for the verb "be," where
"were" is used for all persons (singular and plural).
o Example: "If I were rich, I would travel the world." "I wish I had more free time."

Common contexts:
• Conditional sentences (Type 2) expressing hypothetical or unreal situations
in the present or future.
• Clauses after "wish" to express desires about the present or past.
• After "would rather" to express preferences.
• After "as if" or "as though" to describe unreal situations.

→ Past Perfect Subjunctive:

o Identical to the past perfect tense (had + -ed participle).
o Example: "If I had known about the traffic, I would have left earlier." "I
wish I had studied harder for the exam."

Common contexts:
• Conditional sentences (Type 3) expressing hypothetical situations in
the past (unfulfilled conditions).
• Clauses after "wish" to express regrets about the past.
• After "would rather" to express past preferences.