Lingua inglese 1

WORD CLASSES

content words➔ lexical words (carrying the meaning of a sentence: adverbs, adjectives…)

◆function words➔ grammatical words

◆Words classes are used with different frequencies in different registers

Type of phrases

A phrase is a word or a group of words that forms a unit in a clause.

➔ Each class has a major phrase type

➔ Noun phrase (NP)

◆ Verb phrase (VP)

◆ Adjective phrase (AdjP)

◆ Adverb phrase (AdvP)

◆ Prepositional phrase (PrpP)

◆Ex.

Type of phrases – noun phrases

“A noun phrase is a sequence of words including a noun which can be substituted for a single noun in any sentence” (Falinski 2011: 15)

student➔ my expectations➔ ordinary academic work➔ the learners’ constant fear of writing “badly”

➔ The head of the noun phrase is always a noun.

➔ The other elements in the phrase are related to the head.

➔ • *The head noun

• (We) apologise
• (I) can’t remember
• (Such displays of violence) cannot be tolerated

The head* of the verb phrase is always a verb.

The other elements in the phrase** are related to the head.

of academic and newspaper registers

◆ Example

● : in

○ “I’m surprised and deeply humbled” the President said [ anat on in front ofaddress [ the White House [ Monday [ severaljournalists]]]].

● Not: On Monday the President gave an address at the White House. Inhis address he said “I’m surprised and deeply humbled”. Severaljournalists were present.

Attributive & predicative adjectives

Attributive:

➔ they are found before the noun and ARE PART of the noun phrase

◆ ● mutual respect (teacher in Billy Elliot)

● the most welcoming nations (text 1)

● the current migrant crisis (text 1)

Predicative:

➔ they follow the noun (they come after it and they’re NOT PART of the noun phrase)

◆ ● sort of feels good. It’s sort of stiff… (Billy Elliot)

● it’s dangerous (text 4)

● It’s a bit repetitive (text 6)

● The book is mildly irritating (text 6)

2605.04 CHANGES TO VERB PHRASE

the head of the noun phrase is the noun all

The elements in the phrase are referred to -> 27NOUN PRE MODIFIER28Adjective categories – descriptors & classifiers

Descriptors are usually gradable -> You can usually intensify descriptors

• Satisfied > more satisfied
• Popular > the most popular
• A positive impact > more positive

It’s really important that mental health services stay open for business as much as possible

Experts said the increase in mental health problems was “dramatic” and the report “extremely alarming”

At least three-quarters of the public think the world is facing a “climate emergency”, with climate breakdown at risk of becoming “extremely dangerous”

Classifiers are usually non-gradable -> Classifiers divide people or things into particular groups, types or classes

• African students
• Annual survey
• Previous Field Poll surveys (some adjectives can be both)

See pp. 197-198 of

The Longman Student Grammar

Are these descriptors or classifiers?

• Dark
• Exciting

Internal

Cold

Small

Heavy

Austrian

Historical

Old

Some rules

1. Adjectives/participles before noun modifiers
2. Descriptors before classifiers (including classifying 's genitive)
3. Colour descriptors after other descriptors
4. Subjective descriptors generally before objective descriptors

We all knew German very well and were able to go into depth of some interesting philosophical and political discussions.

• I'd like to repeat this beautiful experience with my lovely close friends
• I wanted so much a good final mark29
• We ate some excellent Moroccan dishes together in the afternoon and a cake because it was my sister's birthday
• We wandered around the city for many hours focusing on the points of interests and breathing the fresh Irish air.

• A magnificent thing above our heads, a breathtaking pinkish sunset
• On that day we took the city metro to Park Güell, a very large green area on a hill in the suburbs of Barcelona.
• I still remember meeting an elderly Spanish woman who sold me a beautiful vintage pocket mirror

Make noun phrases – pay attention to adjective order!

Some rules

1. Adjectives/participles before noun modifiers
2. Descriptors before classifiers (including classifying 's genitive)
3. Colour descriptors after other descriptors
4. Subjective descriptors generally before objective descriptors

A wheel (bicycle, broken)

A college (boys', famous)

A bag (black, plastic)

A day (hot, summer's)

A stick (walking, wooden)

Wine (dry, white)

A vase (Chinese, old)

A woman (beautiful, young)

A policy (economic, new)

Adjective categories – as postposed modifiers

1. Adjectives after indefinite pronouns:
• Anybody interested
• Everyone present
• Something significant
• Nothing new
2. Participial -ing:
• A tree that is falling > a falling tree
• A dog that is dancing > a dancing dog
• Boys that work hard > hard-working boys
• Food that smells nasty > nasty-smelling food
3. Examples:
• Immigration poses no particular risk of an ever-increasing population
• The great majority of British Muslims want to be loyal, law-abiding members of a society whose underlying values they cherish
4. Object + -ing:
• A tiger that eats men > a man-eating tiger
• A student who loves music > a music-loving student

headlinesEllipsis - headlines leave out unnecessary words

➔ it means that you eliminate something

32Reduced grammar

➔ Ellipsis

• Auxiliary verbs
• Articles
• Relativisers

Focus on content words

➔ Noun phrases

◆ Verbs

◆ Adjectives

Other space-saving strategies

➔ Clipped words

◆ Abbreviations

Punctuation

➔ Punctuation used in place of conjunctions

3312.04 The genitive

Pronunciation

How do you pronounce the “’s” in these genitives?

➔The specifying ’s genitive as a determinerit answers question “whose?” Who does it belong to?

➔ The children’s room

◆ Isabel’s cat

◆ Amelie’s concert ticket

It answers question “what kind of?”

➔ The classifying ’s genitive as a premodifier children’s literature

The specifying ’s genitive as a determiner: meaning relations

Independent genitives (LSGSWE)

That’s not my job. It’s Grace’s (= Two-thirds think it should be

Possessive pronoun: hers

Allowed to save the child from: diseases such as ca

I'm going to my sister's.