Appunti English language 2

EXERCISE 2: IDENTIFY THE ELEMENTS

1. Some cultures value specific and detailed written contacts; others prefer to conduct business through verbal agreements:

• Some cultures - subject.
• value - predicator.
• specific and detailed written contacts - direct object.
• others - subject.
• prefer - predicator.
• to conduct business - direct object.
• through verbal agreements - manner adjunct.

2. As the American workplace and American workers become increasingly multicultural, we face complex challenges in cross-cultural communication.

• As the American workplace and American workers become increasingly multicultural - manner adjunct.
• we - subject.
• face - predicator.
• complex challenges in cross-cultural communication - direct object.

THE SMALLEST BUILDING BLOCKS OF SYNTAX: WORDS.

Defining the notion WORD is problematic. "S" is a derivational suffix dog / dogs. It belongs to the same LEXEME, but they are different words.

forms. → EXAMPLE: duty free it is composed of two words, but these are so closely linked that they feel like one word.

→ WORDS can be classified from a functional perspective into parts of speech or word classes grammatical categories:

1. Noun.
2. Determiner.
3. Adjective.
4. Verb.
5. Preposition.
6. Adverb.
7. Conjunction.
8. Interjection.

We can find some elements that can have different form meaning changing place in the sentence. We have to be careful when we classify and consider the context in which we are.

The grammatical characteristics of words need to be considered for the purposes of scientific description. A noun is usually a word that typically inflects for plural number, is the HEAD of a noun phrase, and functions as a subject or object of a clause.

EXAMPLE: THE RED-HAIRED BOY FELL FROM THE STAIRS.

→ The red-haired boy NOUN PHRASE.

1. THE determiner.
2. Red-haired adjective.
3. Boy noun (head).
4. Fell lexical verb.
5. From preposition.
6. The determiners.

Stairs head noun. [the red-haired boy] [feel] [from [the stairs]].

In the following text, identify the NPs and then find out the HEAD (noun).

A private jet offers luxury services to travelers who can afford it. A variety of comforts and special features are on board. The well-designed interiors have comfortable seats, work tables, and Internet access. The wide aisles leave enough space to walk around. Some private jet services include a chef. Gourmet breakfasts, lunches and dinners are prepared in the galley of the aircraft. Tired passengers can nap in their seats or they can sleep in one of the on-board bedrooms. A relaxing shower in the spa will allow a passenger to arrive fresh and ready to greet people. Such conveniences are the result of new technology and creative thinking. In so many ways, luxury jets are like flying luxury hotels.

In terms of grammatical analysis, we have open and closed classes. → OPEN CLASSES classes in which new members can constantly be added, such as nouns.

The same is for verb, adjective and adverb. Open classes have a definable meaning, and they are called LEXICAL WORD, because they carry the meaning to a sentence. → CLOSED CLASSES elements in those classes are fixed, we can’t add new members. They are STRUCTURAL/ FUNCTIONAL WORDS such as pronouns, determiners, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections. They only have a grammatical meaning.

The class of nouns is potentially infinite. We can expand the class by adding nouns from scientific discoveries, from new products and new ideas. We an also add new verbs.

LEZIONE 4 FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE SENTENCES:

1. SUBJECT: Heather.

   PREDICATOR: took.

   DIRECT OBJECT: the ferry.

   PLACE ADJUNCT: across Istanbul.

   TIME ADJUNCT: yesterday.

   PREDICATE: took the ferry across Istanbul yesterday.

2. SUBJECT: Isabel.

   PREDICATOR: trimmed.

   DIRECT OBJECT: the lamp.

   MANNER ADJUNCT: lightly.

   PREDICATE: trimmed the lamp lightly.

3. Bricks

are best because they are heavy.

SUBJECT: bricks.

PREDICATE: are best because they are heavy.

PREDICATOR: are.

DIRECT OBJECT: best.

ADJUNCT OF REASON: because they are heavy.

4. This season everyone is sending expensive presents to their friends for Christmas.

SUBJECT: everyone.

TIME ADJUNCT: this season.

PREDICATE: is sending expensive presents to their friends for Christmas.

PREDICATOR: is sending.

DIRECT OBJECT: expensive presents.

INDIRECT OBJECT: to their friends.

TIME ADJUNCT: for Christmas.

NOUNS.

● Nouns are defined as words that denote people, animals, things or places. formal criteria.

● We have to take in consideration another criterion that is distribution criteria.

FORMAL CRITERION.

We know that we have some suffixes indicating nouns. For example:

1. -ANCE in alliance, reliance.

2. -HOOD in fatherhood, preacherhood.

3. -LION in abolition, indication.

4. -NESS in darkness, kindness, wildness.

5. -SHIP in studentship, lectureship.

Another formal criterion to recognize nouns is the fact

That they put the -S for the plural form. Another type of criterion of formal criterion to identify nouns is the possessive case. We known that nouns can be present in a sentence with the possessive form. → There is a problem with this criterion. When, for example, a noun ends with S, we can't put the possessive with S but just with apostrophe. We have to take into account also the function of nouns in a sentence.

NOUNS: SUB-CLASSES. The class of noun is commonly divided into a series of subclasses. First of all, we have the division between:

• PROPER NOUNS: referring to unique entities, such as people, places or institutions and are written with a capital letter. In English, names of months and days are also regarded as proper nouns.
• COMMON NOUNS: referring to a class of objects or to single items belonging to the class. Common nouns can also be classified as:

• CONCRETE NOUNS: referring to perceivable objects in the world that can be observed and measured (car, apple).

ABSTRACT NOUNS: referring to non-material things, such as ideas, feelings, conditions (freedom, darkness, time). We can also classify nouns according to their countability:

• COUNTABLE NOUNS.
• UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS / MASS NOUNS.

COUNTABLE nouns refer to individual, countable entities. They allow a plural: interest / interests.

UNCOUNTABLE nouns refer to a category or notion. They can be only used as singular nouns, do not allow a plural, occur in the singular with some / any: money. Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable, with a slight change of meaning. language is a human characteristic / I speak three languages.

EXERCISE:

1. ALLIGATOR countable; an alligator and the alligator; alligators.
2. WOMBAT countable; a wombat and the wombat; many wombats.
3. PITTSBURG uncountable (proper noun).
4. VIDEO countable; a video and the video; some videos.
5. LAWNMOWER countable; a lawnmower and the lawnmower; many lawnmowers.
6. BUTTER uncountable with

1. Army - countable.
2. Children - countable (plural of child).
3. Business - può essere sia countable che uncountable.
   UNCOUNTABLE: you're there for a business trip.
   COUNTABLE: small businesses are increasing in Italy.
4. Paper - può essere sia countable che uncountable.
   Da un lato, è materiale (la carta deve essere gettata in un bidone specifico); papers, newspapers.
5. Accommodation - countable.
6. Chicken - può essere sia countable che uncountable.
   UNCOUNTABLE: I eat chicken twice a week.
   COUNTABLE: the chickens are running in the yard.
7. Advice - uncountable. Puoi dire pieces of advice o some advice.
8. Class - countable.
9. Coffee - può essere sia countable che uncountable.
   UNCOUNTABLE: coffee the liquid.
   COUNTABLE: cups of coffee.
10. Behaviour - uncountable.
11. Gossip - può essere sia countable che uncountable.
    UNCOUNTABLE: the gossip page.
    COUNTABLE: gossips about a person.
12. Data - uncountable.
13. Decision - countable.
14. Hair - può essere sia countable che uncountable.

Equipment: uncountable. → 16. Family: countable. → 17. Help can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: I need help. / COUNTABLE: we can have monetary helps. → 18. Evidence: uncountable. → 19. Government: countable. → 20. Iron can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: iron is a strong material. / COUNTABLE: irons. → 21. Impression: countable. → 22. Health: uncountable. → Glass can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: glass the material. / COUNTABLE: glasses. → Time can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: measurement of seconds, minutes. / COUNTABLE: times. → Work can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: work the activity. / COUNTABLE: when you use work as a product of art or literature. → Room can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: as a space. / COUNTABLE: can be also a place. Many rooms. → Meat can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: food. / COUNTABLE: I hate eating red meats. → Fruit can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: category of food. / COUNTABLE: different kind of fruits. → Experience can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: as knowledge. / COUNTABLE: something that

affects you (she has had many experiences of living abroad).→Fire can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: the element. / COUNTABLE: several fires burning pile, we can say fireman put out fires.→Memory can be both. UNCOUNTABLE: the ability to remember. / COUNTABLE: different memories of my life. LEZIONE 5 HOMEWORK WEEK 2.→

1. NOUN PHRASE her new home.→HEAD NOUN home, that is common, concrete and countable.
2. NOUN PHRASE distant unknown country.→HEAD NOUN country, that is common, concrete and countable.
3. NOUN PHRASE it (stands for a noun). it is the head noun of the phrase.
4. NOUN PHRASE that. head noun.
5. NOUN PHRASE she (pronoun). head noun.
6. NOUN PHRASE Eveline that is a proper noun.
7. NOUN PHRASE people, that is common, concrete and countable.
8. NOUN PHRASE her (pronoun). head noun.
9. NOUN PHRASE respect, that is common, abstract and uncountable.
10. NOUN PHRASE she.
11. NOUN PHRASE her mother.