Assignment

In

Structure of English

Submitted to:

Dr. Rosalinda M. Llamas

Submitted by:

Dionisio, Kaithlyn Kate L.BSE III-I

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Structural Syntax: Grammatical Ties

The Immediate Constituents (ICs) of any construction are connected with each other by a

grammatical tie.

It seems to speakers of English that the relationships between ICs in different constructions are

not always the same.  For example, the relationship between Alice and grew in Alice grew seems

different from the relationship between white and rabbit in white rabbit.  We might say

that grew is the "predicate" of the subject Alice, whereas white is an adjective "modifying" the

noun rabbit.

Structural grammar calls these relationships between ICs "grammatical ties," and theorizes that

well-formed English sentences may be analyzed in terms of five grammatical ties. 

The five grammatical ties that structural grammar finds sufficient for the analysis of English

syntax are listed below.  Click on the name of the grammatical tie to go to a page containing a

brief discussion of that tie.  (If you are going through this discussion for the first time, it will be

more efficient to consider the grammatical ties  in the order listed.)

1. COORDINATION .   In coordination,  the ICs in question are presented as being

"coordinated," or in some sense "syntactically equal."

2. PREDICATION .   Predication is the relationship between a subject (with its modifiers)

and a verb (with its complements and modifiers).

3. MODIFICATION .   Examples of modification are the relationship between an

adjective and its noun, or a verb and its adverb.

4. SUBORDINATION .   Examples of subordination are the relationship between a

preposition and its object, a subordinating conjunction and its clause, and a relative

pronoun and its clause.

5. COMPLEMENTATION .   Complement means "to complete"; complementation is the

relationship between a verb and an element that "completes the meaning" of the verb.

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Structural Syntax: Coordination

In the case of the grammatical tie called coordination, the ICs in question are presented as being "coordinated," or in some sense "syntactically equal."  Coordination can occur with or without the aid of a coordinating conjunction.  Coordination is indicated in diagramming by means of an "equals" sign (=).  Here are some examples of coordination.  Note that in diagramming, coordination has a couple of peculiarities: (1) coordinating conjunctions--such as and, but, or, nor, for--are not themselves treated as ICs of constructions, but as connectors of ICs; and (2) commas that indicate grammatical coordination are treated as though they were coordinating conjunctions.

 

COORDINATION OF SIMPLE PARTS OF SPEECH:

COORDINATION OF PHRASES:

COORDINATION OF CLAUSES:

Structural Syntax: Predication

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Predication is the relationship between a subject (with its modifiers) and a verb (with its complements and modifiers).   That is, predication is the tie between what is often called the "complete subject" of a clause and the "complete predicate" of a clause.  If we divide a simple sentence into its ICs, normally those ICs are connected by the tie of predication.

Normally, a simple sentence has a single predication.  A compound sentence has two or more predications connected by the tie ofcoordination.   A complex sentence has two or more predications connected by some tie other than coordination.Predication is indicated in diagramming by a P.  Here are some examples.

PREDICATION IN SIMPLE SENTENCES

 

PREDICATION IN COMPOUND SENTENCES

 

PREDICATION IN COMPLEX SENTENCES

Note that there are some constructions that might be identified as "complete sentences" that do not contain explicit predications that would show up in diagramming.  For example, the imperative construction in English usually does not express the subject of the verb: Come here.  Shut the window.  In traditional grammar, we sometimes say that the subject You is "understood" in these constructions, but in diagramming these sentences we would not have occasion to use the P to indicate predication.

Structural Syntax: Modification

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Structural grammar is particularly useful for indicating structures of modification.

Modification is the grammatical tie that exists, for example, between an adjective and its noun,

or a verb and its adverb.  But structural diagrams can also indicate clearly what we intuitively

feel when we construct sentences: that adjectives sometimes modify whole phrases which

themselves contain other adjectives, that adverbs sometimes modify whole clauses, that phrases

sometimes modify other phrases or whole clauses, that clauses sometimes modify other clauses,

or that some words we do not normally think of as adjectives or adverbs sometimes perform the

grammatical function ofmodification.

In analyzing structures of modification, it is sometimes useful to talk about the "head" of a

construction.  The head of a construction is the single word that "gets modified," the word that

could by itself stand for the whole construction in the grammar of the sentence.  It is the word in

the construction that all the modifying elements "depend on."

In diagramming, we indicate the grammatical tie of modification by means of an arrowhead (>)

that points from the modifier to whatever is modified.   All of the arrowheads in a diagram of a

structure of modification point toward the head of the construction.

Here are some examples.

SINGLE-WORD MODIFIERS

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Notice the difference in the first two examples between adjectives in a series (tall red) and coordinated adjectives (big, black).  There is subtle shade of difference in the meaning.  One could be talking about a barn that is (1) tall, and (2) red, in which case there would be a comma between tall and red to indicate the structure of modification.   Or, as in the example given, one could be talking about a red barn that is tall.   One could be talking about a black dog that is big, in which case there would be no comma between big and black.  Or, as in the example given, one could be talking about a dog that is (1) big, and (2) black.

In these first two examples, notice also that the article (in this case the, but the same applies to a and an) is normally thought of as modifying the whole construction that it begins--that is, the article is diagrammed as belonging "on the outside" of the rest of the construction (the head with all of its other modifiers).  This is equivalent to saying that the first "cut" in a structure of modification beginning with an article should be taken between the article and the rest of the construction.

Notice how in the third example the diagram indicates that the adverb Recklessly modifies not just the verb flew, but the whole predication.   This makes sense if we notice that the adverb is movable.  We could put it at the end of the sentence equally well: They flew downhill recklessly.  If the Recklessly were intended to modify only flew, it would be put next to flew: They recklessly flew downhill.  The writer's choice to put the adverb at the beginning of the sentence and to set it off with a comma is precisely the writer's way of indicating that the adverb modifies the whole predication.

Similarly, notice how the comma in the fourth example actually separates the modifier dancing from hippos, the head of its construction.    The comma here is a way of indicating that dancing modifies not just the head hippos, but instead the whole construction Disney's manic hippos.    If the writer had intended for dancing to modify only hippos, the writer would have written Disney's manic dancing hippos.

MODIFYING PHRASES

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These examples illustrate how "prepositional phrases" (by the people, into the back yard, down Main, for that) work syntactically like adjectives or adverbs.  Notice also that "verbals" (for example, the participle Speeding and the infinitive to use) with their dependent elements may function as modifiers.

MODIFYING CLAUSES

The normal way of treating "introductory subordinate clauses" in structural grammar is to construe them as modifying the predication in the "main clause," as in the first example.  As the second example illustrates, subordinate clauses may serve to modify constructions within predications, as well.

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Structural Syntax: Subordination

In structural grammar, words that do not "inflect" (that is, do not have different forms) are sometimes called "function words."  Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and the personal pronouns all inflect.  What traditional grammarians identify as prepositions, conjunctions, and relative pronouns are all "function words," in the sense that they do not inflect.

Functions words have various functions.  For example, coordinating conjunctions coordinate syntactically-equal constructions.  Many other function words, including prepositions, subordinating conjunctions, and relative pronouns, in general function to subordinate one construction to another.

For example, a preposition subordinates its object to the construction that the whole prepositional phrase modifies.  A subordinating conjunction, as its name indicates, subordinates the clause it governs to the main clause of the sentence or to some part of that clause.

Although the relations between a preposition and its object, a subordinating conjunction and its clause, and a relative pronoun and its clause might all seem intuitively different from each other, structural grammar lumps all of these relations together under the grammatical tie calledsubordination.

In diagramming, subordination is indicated by an S.   Here are some examples.

 

SUBORDINATION BY PREPOSITIONS

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Prepositional phrases may function adjectivally or adverbially.  Note that in some cases, as in the

example above beginning with In fact, prepositional phrases may be construed

as modifying whole predications.  In such cases, the prepositional phrase in question is normally

movable within the sentence: We fell short, in fact, of our goal; We fell short of our goal, in fact.

SUBORDINATION BY SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Note that structural diagramming in the latter two examples makes it unnecessary to supply

"understood" elements of the constructions: we do not need to write (or to think) "When [she

was] leaving," or "Though [it is] shorter."

 

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SUBORDINATION BY RELATIVE PRONOUNS

For some grammarians, these examples would illustrate the least satisfactory aspect of structural

diagramming.  Intuitively, we might want to say that in which I resented, for example,

the which does more than to subordinate the predication I resented to the main clause: we might

want to say that the which is also the direct object of the verb resented, or something of the sort. 

Similarly, we might want to say that thewhose in whose books sold, besides subordinating the

predication books sold to the main predication, also modifies books.  Structural diagramming

obscures these points, in the interest of economy.  That is, if were were to make these kinds of

distinctions, we would end up with more than five grammatical ties, and structural diagramming

would become considerably more complex.  Remember the general principle that no system of

grammar is exhaustively rigorous--or, as some linguists say, "all grammars leak."

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Structural Syntax: Complementation

Complement means "to complete," and complementation has to do with "completing the

meaning" of a verb.  Many times, verbs in English sentences are completed by constructions that

are not just modifiers.   Complementation is indicated in diagramming by labeling the

grammatical tie between the verb and its complement with a C.

But the situation with verbs is a little complicated.  Structural grammar distinguishes five types

of complementation, as follows.

Direct Object, indicated in diagramming by C with DO.   Example: The dog ate

bones, where bones is said to be the direct object of ate.

Direct Object and Indirect Object, indicated in diagramming by DO and IO,

respectively, along with the obligatory C.  Example: He gave her flowers,

where flowers is said to be the direct object of gave, and her is said to be the

indirect object ofgave.

Objective Complement, indicated in diagramming by C with OC.   Example: It

made him angry, where angry is said to be the objective complement of made.

Retained Object, indicated in diagramming by C with RO.   Example: She was

given flowers, where flowers is said to be the retained object of was given.

Subjective Complement, indicated in diagramming by C with SC.   Example: He

was angry, where angry is said to be the subjective complement of was.

 

In considering complementation, it is important to remember that participles and gerunds,

which function syntactically as adjectives and nouns, respectively,  are still "verbals" and may

take complements.   The same is true of infinitives, which may function syntactically in various

ways.

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Structural Syntax: The Direct Object

The direct object is perhaps the most familiar complement.  Here, the object of the verb--a

noun, a pronoun, or a construction that functions like a noun--"receives the action" of the verb.

The direct object is indicated in diagramming by labeling the complementation with C, and then

writing DO under the word or construction that serves as the direct object.

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Structural Syntax: The Direct Object with Indirect Object

In the kind of complementation called direct object + indirect object, the verb has two

complements--nouns, pronouns, or constructions that function like nouns.   Both objects "receive

the action" of the verb, though in different senses.

The direct object + indirect object construction is indicated in diagramming by labeling the

complementation with C, and then writing DOunder the direct object and IO under the indirect

object.

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Structural Syntax: The Objective Complement

As with the direct object and indirect object, in the case of the objective complement the verb

has two complements.  One of the complements functions like a direct object--it is a noun, a

pronoun, or a construction functioning like a noun.   The objective complement itself might be

either another noun or pronoun, or it might be an adjective or a construction functioning like an

adjective.   The notion is that theobjective complement of the verb functions to provide

information about the object of the verb.

The objective complement is indicated in diagramming by labeling the complementation with

a C, and then writing OC under the word or construction that serves as the objective

complement.

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Structural Syntax: The Retained Object

Historically, the construction called the retained object comes from archaic constructions such

as Him was given a gift, in which gift is the subject of the verb was given, and Him is its object. 

Since the usual order of English sentences, however, is subject-verb-object, speakers tended to

"correct" the object form of the pronoun (him) to the subject form (he): He was given a gift. 

The gift, then, is retained as the apparent object of the verb.

The retained object is indicated in diagramming by labeling the complementation with C, and

then writing RO under the word or construction that functions as the retained object.

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Structural Syntax: The Subjective Complement

In the case of the subjective complement, the idea is that the complement of the verb functions

to provide information about the subject of the verb.   The verb is then thought of as functioning

to "link" its subject with its complement.  We talk about the "copula" to be and all of its forms

(am, is, was, were, have been, being, and so on), where copula is a Latin word meaning "link,"

and we talk about the "linking verbs" such as to become, to feel, and so on, that in some sense

function to link the complement to the subject.

The subjective complement is indicated in diagramming by labeling the complementation

with C, and then writing SC underneath the word or construction that functions as the subjective

complement.

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