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1.English Grammar
1.English Grammar
Grammar describes the structure of phrases and sentences, identifying correct vs. incorrect word sequences.
2.Traditional Grammar
2.Traditional Grammar
3.The Prescriptive Approach
3.The Prescriptive Approach
an approach to grammar that set out rules for the “proper” use of English, traditionally based on Latin grammar/tradition or standards of "correctness."
4.The Descriptive Approach
4.The Descriptive Approach
an approach to grammar that is based on a description of the structures actually used in a language, not what should be used, in contrast to the prescriptive approach
Structural Analysis
Structural Analysis
Structural analysis involves examining the underlying structure of sentences and how elements combine to form meaningful units.
Constituent Analysis
Constituent Analysis
Constituent analysis breaks down sentences into smaller grammatical units (constituents) to understand their syntactic roles and relationships.
5.Subjects and Objects
5.Subjects and Objects
Subjects are typically the main noun or pronoun that performs the action of the verb, while objects receive the action.
Example:
Subject (e.g., "He walks.")
Object (e.g., "He loves her.")
6.Word Order
6.Word Order
SVO (Subject – Verb – Object)
SOV, VSO, VOS (others)
7.Study Questions
7.Study Questions
1 Identify all the parts of speech used in this sentence (e.g. woman = noun):
The woman kept a large snake in a cage, but it escaped recently.
->The = Article
woman = Noun
kept = Verb (past tense)
a = Article
large = Adjective
snake = Noun
in = Preposition
a = Article
cage = Noun
but = Conjunction
it = Pronoun
escaped = Verb (past tense)
recently = Adverb
2 How many adverbs are there in the following sentence? Really large objects move very slowly.
->There are two adverbs:
Really
Very
3 What is the tense and voice of the verb in the following sentence?
My parents were married in Rome.
->Tense: Past tense
Voice: Passive voice
4 What is the difference between grammatical gender and natural gender?
->Whereas natural gender is based on sex (male and female), grammatical gender is based on the type of noun (masculine and feminine) and is not tied to sex.
5 What prescriptive rules for the “proper” use of English are not obeyed in the following sentences and how would they be “corrected”?
(a) The old theory consistently failed to fully explain all the data.
(b) I can’t remember the name of the person I gave the book to.
6 How many noun phrases are there in the following sentence?
Robert brought a small puppy to the party and we all wanted to keep it.
->There are four noun phrases:
Robert (proper noun)
a small puppy (article + adjective + noun)
the party (article + noun)
it (pronoun referring to "puppy")
7 What was wrong with the older Latin-influenced definition of English pronouns?
8 What is the grammatical function of the proper noun in the following sentence?
The professor and her students visited Berlin during the summer.
->The proper noun "Berlin" functions as the direct object of the verb "visited."
9 Is Malagasy a VSO language or something else?
->Malagasy is an Austronesian language with VOS (Verb-Object-Subject) word order.
10 Given these other Gaelic words, translate the following sentences into English:
->Given Gaelic words:
beag = small
bhuail = hit
dubh = black
duine = man
gille = boy
Translations:
(a) Bhuail an gille beag an cu dubh
Translation: The small boy hit the black dog.
(b) Chunnaic an cu an duine mor
Translation: The dog saw the big man.
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