Zhao Yi Ying, Chu Hai Yan, Ho Wing Yi, Lu Jing Yi, Yim Chui Ying

In order to use language more accurately both in everyday life and in the academic field, we need to have a brief perception on the overview of grammar. This chapter will be introducing an overview of grammar through its history, theories, sentence structure, sentence constituent, and punctuation.

3.1The development of grammar in history

The development of grammar experienced a lengthy as well as complicated process throughout history. The grammar used currently does not form in a short period. It transforms and improves as society develops as well as human’s communication needs deepen. The general overview of the development of grammar are as follows.

3.1.1Ancient Civilizations

  The earliest known written records, such as cuneiform tablets from ancient Mesopotamia and hieroglyphic inscriptions from ancient Egypt, demonstrate the early development of grammar (OpenAI, 2023). During this period, human society was still in the initial stages, when people paid more attention to living conditions. Therefore, there was no standard language structure to limit the use of grammar and early grammatical rules were often based on observation and description of language usage as shown in Figure 3.1.1.1 and Figure 3.1.1.2.

Take hieroglyphic inscriptions from ancient Egypt as an example. Hieroglyphic inscription is an early writing system, using symbols and drawings to represent concepts. Though not equipped with clear grammar rules, it still obeys some basic grammatical rules. For instance, the order of symbols often reflects the time order that events happen. As shown in Figure 3.1.1.3, if one pictograph represents the sun and the other represents human, then placing the sun symbol before the human symbol might represent a sunrise, while placing the sun symbol after the human symbol might represent a sunset. (OpenAI, 2023)

3.1.2Classical Period

  The classical civilizations of Greece and Rome contributed greatly to the development of grammar. Greek grammarians, such as Dionysius Thrax and Apollonius Dyscolus, analysed and codified the rules of Greek grammar, laying the foundation for future grammatical studies. (OpenAI, 2023)

In Rome, Latin grammar was studied extensively, primarily by scholars like Varro and Quintilian. 

There are six cases of nouns in Latin, which are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative and vocative. Each case indicates a different grammatical function of the noun in the sentence. For instance, nominative is used to indicate the subject or equivalent subject. (e.g., “Puella ambulat” means “Girl walks”.) (OpenAI, 2023)

3.1.3 Medieval Period：

  During the medieval period, Latin remained the dominant language of scholarship and religious texts. Latin grammar was further refined, and Latin grammatical concepts influenced the study of vernacular languages.

 The development of vernacular grammars started to emerge, reflecting the growing importance of local languages alongside Latin. For instance, medieval dialects may have retained the concept of case from ancient languages, such as nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, etc. The usage of these cases can vary depending on the specific characteristics of the dialect. (e.g., The nominative pronoun "I" in English could have transformed into "ich" or "ik" in certain medieval dialects.) (OpenAI, 2023)

3.1.4 Renaissance and Early Modern Period:

  The Renaissance saw a renewed interest in the study of classical languages, particularly Latin and Greek. Scholars such as Erasmus and Melanchthon produced influential grammatical works, incorporating insights from ancient grammarians. The printing press facilitated the dissemination of grammatical knowledge. More books and articles were printed and spread so that more people get the opportunities to know the basic rules of grammar, leading to increased standardization and the establishment of grammatical rules.

Grammar experienced massive changes during the Renaissance and Early Modern Period. In Middle English, verbs had various inflections to indicate person, number, and tense. However, during the Renaissance and Early Modern Period, many of these inflections were gradually lost. For example, the third-person singular "-eth" ending (e.g., "he walketh") was replaced with the "-s" ending (e.g., "he walks"). In addition, the progressive tense, formed by using the auxiliary verb "to be" plus the present participle (-ing form), began to develop during this period. For example, "I am reading" or "He was writing." (OpenAI, 2023)

3.1.5 Modern Grammar:

  The development of modern grammar is closely tied to the emergence of nation-states and the standardisation of languages. The emergence of nation-states emphasised the same culture, history and language and national identity was strongly needed.

Through setting standard rules for grammar, language can remain uniform throughout the country, and it was more convenient for communication of the residents. In addition, standardisation of language has important implications for education, media and law. 

Therefore, the standardisation of languages was necessary in this period. In the 17th and 18th centuries, grammarians like Port-Royal grammarians in France and Samuel Johnson in England sought to establish prescriptive rules for their respective languages. These rules aimed to regulate usage, promote clarity, and facilitate communication.

3.1.6Linguistic Revolutions: 

In the late 18th and 19th centuries, linguistic scholars such as Wilhelm von Humboldt and Ferdinand de Saussure shifted the focus from prescriptive grammar to descriptive grammar.  (e.g., English prepositions are used to indicate relationships between words in a sentence. For example, "in," "on," "at," "under," "behind," etc.) (OpenAI, 2023) They emphasised the language of native speakers rather than standard language. Grammar became more flexible and embraced new changes. The language system became more dynamic.

3.1.7Modern Linguistics: 

In the 20th century, linguistics became an established academic discipline. Various schools of thought, such as transformational grammar (Chomsky) and functional grammar (Halliday), contributed to the understanding of grammar as a cognitive and communicative system. Linguists paid more attention to the complexities of grammar, including syntax, morphology, phonetics, and semantics.

3.2 Grammar Theories

In this section, different grammar theories will be discussed. theories plays a vital role in linguistic grammar, because grammar theories help people understand different aspects of grammar.

3.2.1 Structuralism

  Ferdinand de Saussure (1916) and his adherents established structuralism, which focuses on the analysis of language as a system of connected elements. It places a strong emphasis on the analysis of linguistic structure and the connections between various linguistic elements. Through the examination of phonemes, morphemes, and syntactic structures, structuralists aim to identify the fundamental patterns and principles that underpin linguistic construction.

Examples of structuralism include:

Morpheme Structure: Structuralism examines the arrangement of morphemes, which are the smallest meaningful components of language.

The three morphemes "un-" (a prefix denoting negation), "happy" (a root denoting joy), and "-ness" (a suffix denoting a state or attribute) can be used to break down the word "unhappiness" in English. Structuralism would examine the roles and connections among these morphemes.

3.2.2 Generative Grammar

Developed by Noam Chomsky(1993), this theory contends that grammar rules are built into the human brain and that language is a fundamental human ability. The generative characteristics of language is highlighted by Chomsky's theory, which contends that speakers are capable of producing an endless number of grammatically sound phrases. The goal of generative grammar is to identify the underlying, abstract principles  that produce a language's grammatical structures.

 Universal Grammar

Generative grammar asserts the presence of a universal grammar, which implies that all human languages share fundamental linguistic principles and structures. The learning and use of language is governed by these rules.

Example: According to the theory of a universal grammar, the subject-verb-object (SVO) word order serves as the fundamental sentence structure in all languages, and any variations from this order in particular languages are accounted for by transformational rules.

3.2.3 Transformational Grammar

 As a structure within Generative Grammar, Transformational Grammar addresses with the transformational operations that link various sentence structures. It emphasises the distinction between surface structure, meaning a sentence's actual form, and deep structure, which refers to a sentence's underlying meaning. According to transformational grammar, deep structures can undergo changes that result in new surface structures.

 Wh-Movement Transformation:

Deep Structure: John purchased a book.

Surface Structure: What did John purchase? 

In this illustration, the question word "what" is moved from the end of the phrase to the beginning, creating the query "What did John buy?" The transformation enables the question word to be fronted and a question structure to be created.

3.2.4 Functional Grammar 

Functional Grammar emphasises the communicative role of language and is informed by the work of linguists such as Michael Halliday(1994). It sees language as a means of conveying ideas as well as serving social and communicative purposes. Functional Grammar examines how grammatical structures relate to their communicative purposes, placing special emphasis on the influence of context and discourse on language use.

Interrogative Function:

The purpose of interrogative language is to elicit information and pose questions. They frequently involve the inversion of the auxiliary verb and subject.

"Did you finish your homework?" is an example. The speaker is asking the listener whether they finished their assignment, and this is indicated by the phrase structure and word order, which reflect the interrogative function.

Imperative Sentences: Imperative sentences are used to issue requests, commands, or other directives. They frequently use verb tenses without personal pronouns and remove the subject.

For instance, "Close the door, please." The verb "close" is used in this sentence without a subject to communicate the imperative function, and the word "please," signifying a formal request, is also included.

3.2.5 Cognitive Grammar 

Ronald Langacker (1987) created Cognitive Grammar which concentrates on the mental operations necessary for language creation and comprehension. It suggests that conceptual representations and cognitive structures serve as the foundation of language. According to Cognitive Grammar, meaning is at the core of how grammar is organised and emphasises the significance of semantic and pragmatic elements in determining grammatical structures.

To demonstrate the ideas of Cognitive Grammar, consider the following examples:

 Construal Operations: Construal operations are psychological processes that influence our perception and understanding of linguistic expressions. As an illustration, the sentence "She walked into the room" might be understood as an intentional action, highlighting the subject's movement's volitional aspect. 

 The phrase "She entered the room" could be understood as a straightforward factual statement that highlights the outcome of the subject's movement.

3.2.6 Construction Grammar 

Construction Grammar emphasises the function of constructs in language and was established by linguists such as Adele Goldberg(2006). The meaningful linguistic units of language are represented by constructions, which are form-function pairings. Construction Grammar examines the formation of constructs, their use in expressing meaning, and their interactions with one another in the use of language.

Example:

The "If X, then Y" Construction joins an if clause (X) with a then clause (Y) using the conditional conjunction "if...then." It demonstrates a conditional relationship by claiming that if X occurs or is true, then Y will also occur or be true.

For instance: "If it rains, then we will stay indoors." In this instance, "it rains" is the if-clause, and "we will stay indoors" is the then-clause. The design suggests that remaining home will be the result of rain.

The "X-ing is Y" Construction:

A gerund (X-ing) and a complement (Y) are joined in this construction by the copular verb "is." It conveys an attribute or quality connected to the gerund-denoted action.

Example: "Running is a good form of exercise." "Running" is the gerund in this sentence, "is" is the copular verb, and "good exercise" is the complement. The design implies that running has the property of being an excellent kind of exercise.

3.3.1 Principles of Sentence Construction: A Complete Thought

A sentence must possess a distinct meaning or offer information that is coherent on its own. 

A sentence is not grammatically complete if it simply has a subject and a verb. Such a form is referred to as a sentence fragment in English grammar. A full sentence must communicate a complete notion in addition to having a subject and a verb. 

An example of a sentence fragment is as follows: 

"Running."

The word "running" serves as the verb in this instance, but there is no subject or supporting material. You would need to add more details in order to construct a phrase that is both grammatically sound and full.

3.3.2.1 SV

A subject and a verb are the basic components of a sentence. subject is the noun or pronoun that performs the action or is being described in the sentence. The action or state of being that the subject is in is represented by the verb. As an example, "She sings."

It's important to note that this basic structure can be expanded with additional elements such as adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and more. 

3.3.2.2 SVO

The subject-verb-object (SVO) pattern is a typical sentence structure in English grammar, while there are some modifications and other components that can be used.

-She likes cakes.

-We cleaned the room.

3.3.2.3 SVoO

The SVoO structure is just one way to analyse and understand the basic components of a sentence. As an example,

She (S) painted (V) the wall (o) blue (O).

The objective complement “blue” specifies the colour of the direct object "the wall" in order to describe it.

3.3.3 compound sentence

A sentence that is composed of two or more independent clauses, each of which is essentially a complete sentence on its own, is referred to as a compound sentence. 

Through the use of coordinating conjunctions, punctuation, or conjunctive adverbs, these independent clauses are connected. A compound sentence expresses a connection between the concepts or actions mentioned in each independent clause.

Here's an example of a compound sentence: 

"The sun was shining brightly, so we decided to go for a picnic."

In this example, "The sun was shining brightly" and "we decided to go for a picnic" are two independentclauses. The coordinating conjunction "so" is used to connect the two clauses, indicating a cause-and-effect relationship.

3.4 Sentence constituent

3.4.1. Subject

  2). Infinitives are used to express future actions

       e.g.  To save money is impossible now.   

         The infinitive is another expression when the verb has to function as a noun and is commonly used to describe a subject that will happen in the future. In the example sentence, using “to save money” indicated that for some reasons, the action “save money” can’t happen now. So, if the action will happen, it will only happen in the future.

B. “the + adjective” that represents a group of people can also serve as a subject

  e.g.  The sick were sent home.

 In this sentence, the word “sick”, means the patients. Instead of serving as an adjective(to describe something, usually a noun) is now worked with the word “the” together to serve as a noun group and function as the subject.

C.  Conjunction “that” can’t be omitted when leading the declarative sentence 

We notice that the first sentence has a top-heavy problem, so we use “It” as a dummy subject and put the real subject at the back of the sentence. In those cases, the structure of the sentence is more balanced.

D. Adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases that are at the beginning of a sentence indicate the real subject is behind.

1. On the desk are some books.  　 Some books are on the desk. (the real subject is “some books”)

2. Gone are the old days.   The old days are gone. (the real subject is “the days”)

3.4.1.2 subject complement

A. Subjective complement is a grammatical structure that provides additional information to describe, rename, and tell further messages about the subject. There are usually two kinds of common subjective complements in our daily usage.

In the first sentence, “stealing” serves as a complement to provide the information about what the object, the boy was doing. But when we turn the active voice into a passive voice, “the boy” becomes the subject of the sentence. So, object complements “stealing” correspondingly become subject complements

B. The subject complement only serves as a complement to the subject

    e.g. I went home from work, tired and hungry.

    The subject complements “tired and hungry “and adds more details about how “I” feel after “We” get back from school and have the function of further describing the subject.

3.4.2 Predicate

In a sentence, the predicate is the other most essential component besides the subject. A predicate usually conveys the message about the subject and what the subject is doing. Here are two main forms of predicate. The predicate is almost equal to the verb, but predicates cover a wider range than verbs. All the verbs can function as a predicate, but not all the predicates are verbs. Following are some different types of predicates.

   A.Simple predicate

Verb and verb phrases can serve as a simple predicate.

Eg. He practices running every morning.

   B.Compound predicate

Compound predicates consist of modal verbs or other auxiliary verbs +verbs 

➤ Hint: Linking verbs have to serve together with predicate as a predicate

           e.g. We are students.

           In the sentence above, the predicate is “are students”, not only “are”.

3.4.3 Object

The object is the receiver of the action, and the object is usually a noun, pronoun, or equivalent word, phrase, or clause.Objects are divided into verb objects and prepositional objects

A."the + adjective"that indicates a group of people have the function of nouns ,can serve as the object.

    Who will take care of the elderly?

B. Sometimes adverbs, prepositional phrases can serve as objects

     He left there just now.

     He came out from under the bed.

C. The base form of the verb  need to be changed into an infinitive or a gerund

      She wanted to go home.

       The boy enjoyed playing video games.

3.4.3.1 Double-objects

Double-objects contain a direct object and an indirect object. These two objects are both the receivers of the subject’s action and can be performed in different forms.

These two forms of expression actually convey the same meaning, the different order of the direct doesn’t affect the function of the sentence. So we can sum up a formula to make direct and indirect objects interchangeable.

Hint: 

explain to sb. Sth. (✔︎) 

        explain sb. sth.(✘)  → explain to sb. sth. (✔︎)

3.4.3.2 Object complement

    The definition of an object complement is very similar to the definition of a subject complement, except that it modifies the object in the sentence. 

In addition, objects and object complements form a logical subject-predicate relationship, and together serve as a compound object.

      A. Nouns serve as object complements

This kind of object complement is often seen after these verbs.

(of course, the chart only contains some examples)

B. Adjective or Adverb serve as object complement

C. Prepositional phrases serve as object complements

D. Non-predicate verbs serve as object complement

3.4.4 Predicative

Predicative is used to provide information about the subject or object in the sentence. Mostly, it is used to provide a description or identification of the subject or object. Predicatives follow copular verbs such as “be”, “seem”, and “become”. 

3.4.5 Appositive

Appositive is placed next to another noun or noun phrase to provide further information or clarification about nouns in the front.

3.4.6 Attribute

Attribute is used to present supplementary information about a noun or pronoun. It is placed before the noun and its function includes describing, modifying, and qualifying. It provides more details and characteristics of the noun and enhances the understanding of readers towards the sentence. 

3.4.7 Adverbial

Adverbial is used to provide additional information about a verb, adjective, or adverb. Adverbials can be a single word, phrase, or clause. Adverbials can provide information such as time, place, frequency, condition, or other purposes. Adverbials are placed at the end of a sentence.

3.5 Punctuation

3.5.1.1 Function of period

Period (.) is mainly used for indicating the end of a sentence. Period, also known as a full stop, marks the end of a sentence and takes up the role of making it a statement or a command. Generally, periods act as text organizers, which navigate readers through the text and help with their understanding. The placement of a period sets boundaries between sentences in a paragraph, leading to the establishment of syntactic structure through the organization of distinct ideas. 

3.5.1.2 Function of question mark

Question marks are used as indications that a sentence is a direct question. Question marks may change the structure of a sentence and the word order of the sentence, as shown in the example below. Clarification of the intention of the writer is provided. Thus, question mark also plays an important role in the semantics part of linguistics.

Similarly, when the speaker is intended to give out a rising intonation pattern at the end of a sentence, question marks help indicate the tone of the speaker. It is a representation of intonational contour.

Similarly, when the speaker is intended to give out a rising intonation pattern at the end of a sentence, question marks help indicate the tone of the speaker. It is a representation of intonational contour.

3.5.1.3 Function of exclamation mark

Exclamation marks are used to indicate that the speaker is trying to interpret a strong emotion. Primarily, exclamation marks are used to express surprise, enthusiasm, anger, sarcasm, or even irony. Thus, in linguistics, the exclamation mark plays a vital role in conveying the tone of the speaker in written form.

Especially when nowadays many grammar rules are seen to be redundant, people usually write in a simpler manner. Thus, an exclamation mark can interpret a sense of urgency to the statement.

3.5.2 Commas

Comma is the more frequently used punctuation mark compared to many others, due to the variety of functions. 

3.5.2.1 Listing items

Commas are used to separate items that are listed in a sentence. It is also known as the serial comma, which shows the clarification of the examples given in a particular sentence, improving its syntax.

3.5.2.2 Coordinate clauses

Commas are also used to separate independent clauses in a compound sentence, which marks the boundary between the clauses so that the sentence can interpret various meanings.

3.5.2.3 Adverbial elements

Commas are used to separate adverbials from each other within a sentence. Adverbial elements include adverbs and adverbial phrases, which can be formed by two or more words, and provide additional information about the action or what we call a verb. Thus, the addition of a comma can present the adverbial part of a sentence in a linguistic manner. 

3.5.3 Colons and semi-colons

3.5.3.1 Function of colons

There are many functions of colons, but the one that has the closest relationship with linguistics is introducing explanations and clarifications. Colons are used to expand sentences, introducing extra explanations and clarifications. Colons indicate that the following part of the sentence is the elaboration of what is mentioned in the former part. They play a critical role in sentence structures, especially in interpreting the relationship between ideas, as well as clarifying additional information in written communication.

3.5.3.2 Function of semi-colons

Semi-colons have the function of separating independent clauses. The number of combinations that can be produced in a sentence can be surprising when we slightly change the punctuation. This is because different arrangements can interpret very different meanings.

Semi-colons can also be used for separating clauses with internal commas. This usage helps maintain clarity and prevent confusion between different levels of punctuation. Semi-colon provides clarity and coherence in written communication. Although semi-colons and commas share similar purposes, semi-colons are used when commas already appear in a single sentence. 

3.5.4 Importance of correct punctuation 

With all the above mentioned, what is the importance of using correct punctuation? Suliman, F., Ben-Ahmeida, M., & Mahalla, S. (2019) mentioned that writing is about interpreting ideas and if readers cannot understand where a sentence starts and ends, good ideas still would not be communicated to the readers. By providing punctuation correctly in a passage, writers can avoid ambiguity, and convey the intended meaning to readers, which enhances the semantic aspect in one written piece.

By using correct punctuation, writers can demonstrate grammar and sentence mechanics skills, and can accurately describe the syntactic structure of sentences. Thus, punctuation contributes to the syntactic integrity of a sentence.

3.5.5 Conclusion

Punctuation may not be considered a key part of grammar in terms of linguistics, but punctuation does help convey meaning which supports key concepts in linguistics, which contributes to parts mostly including syntax and semantics. Thus, it should not be neglected.

Comprehension questions (Chapter 3) 

1.What is the feature of the grammar in Ancient Civilization? (B)

A) Grammar did not follow any rules at all.

B) Grammar did not obey clear rules but followed basic rules.

C) Grammar followed specific rules.

2. What is the biggest reason why more people got to know the rules of grammar in Renaissance and Early Modern period? (C)

A) Linguists promoted their works more.

B) People received better education from schools.

C) The printing press was invented and used.

3.  Transformational Grammar was developed by? (a)

A) Noam Chomsky

B) Ferdinand de Saussure

C) Edward Sapir

D) Roman Jakobson

4.  According to Construction Grammar, a construction is? (d)

A) A grammatical rule

B) A fixed phrase

C) A pattern of pairing words

D) All of the above

5.what elements can make up a complex sentence?(b)

A)One independent clause 

B)One independent clause and at least one dependent clause

C)Two dependent clause 

D)All of the above

6.Which of the following sentence can express a complete thought?(b)

A)The girl and her family.

B)She ran to me.

C)Olive.

D)Sad.

7. Which word should be filled in the blank?

     Sarah __(tell) that she could be Britain's new supermodel earning a million dollars in the new year. (A)

     A)was told

     B)tells

     C)told

     D)is told

8. Which word serves as the predicate in the following sentence?

      I have been reading the book all the time.  (C)

      A)reading

      B)been reading

      C)have been reading

9.  Which of the following is NOT a function of commas?

A) Separate independent clauses

B) Providing additional information

C) Introducing clarifications

D) Clarifying examples

(Key: C)

10.  Punctuation contributes to the syntactic integrity of sentences

A) True

B) False

(Key: A)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW3LbDkzRoM&t=19s 

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