Riassunto esame Lingua inglese II, Prof. Paganoni Maria Cristina, libro consigliato The Frameworks of English, capitoli 2, 5, 6, 7, Kim Ballard

ADJECTIVES

Are describing words. They can be identified by reference to each of two features: the position where they can occur and their ability to be graded.

Central adjectives are able to appear in two positions: before a noun (attributive) and after certain verbs like "be" and "appear" (predicative).

We can also indicate to what extent the quality referred to by an adjective applies, for example, "extremely lucky" or "very lucky".

One or two adjectives are ungradable since their meaning is absolute.

ADVERBS

To identify adverbs, we have to look at several features which characterise them.

You can check whether a word is an adjective or adverb by seeing which position it can appear in. If the word cannot appear in attributive position, then it is an adverb.

Adverbs have the ability to give information about how, where, and when, and to allow you to comment on whole utterances as adjuncts, conjuncts, or disjuncts.

Adverbs are divided into three classes: adjuncts, conjuncts, and disjuncts. The adjunct is the largest group.

A difference between the

adjectives and the adverbs is that adjectives can occur only in its given position while adverbs could appear in any one of several positions. Adverbs can be of manner, place, time, or degree intensifiers. There are also wh- adverbs. Sometimes adjuncts are the words. Adverbs which are adjuncts give additional information about a particular element of a sentence or about the event referred to in a sentence. Disjuncts indicate the voice in which something is said. They relate to the sentence in which they occur while relating to one sentence or one part of a sentence to another. The property of this last adverb is linking two sentences together (even two parts of the same sentence). PRONOUNS primary pronouns. They take the place of a noun. They can be divided into a systematic group. Primary pronouns are either singular or plural. There is another distinction of personal pronouns, possessive pronouns. They occur in several forms: reflexive pronouns and dependent independent pronouns.

Possessive pronouns take either independent or dependent forms and act as a replacement for a complete noun phrase. By contrast, the dependent form precedes a noun which it qualifies.

Reflexive pronouns are usually used to refer back to someone or something mentioned previously. For example, "Gregory himself has been to Lambeth Palace." Another example is, "I fell down the stairs and hurt myself."

A further pronoun included in the table of primary pronouns is the one generic pronoun. Wh- pronouns, relative pronouns, nominal relative pronouns, conditional pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns are also part of this category. These last ones, like the primary pronouns, are deictic, meaning that their meaning is relative to the speaker or the context.

Determiners are only found at the beginning of a noun phrase. Any other adjective comes after any determiner. Determiners are divided into predeterminers, central determiners, and postdeterminers. There are restrictions on the number and type of determiners.

Determiners determines which can occur in any noun phrase. There can be no co-occurrence of any of these types of determiners.

Central determiners are identified primarily on the basis that they cannot occur with each other. By contrast the indefinite pre determiners can occur with a much wider range of central determiners.

Post determiners and predeterminers do not have to occur with a central determiner. However whatever determiners do occur have a prescribed sequence.

Determiners will always be followed by a head noun, although there might be some premodifiers element.

AUXILIARIES auxiliary verbs

Auxiliaries or are a small group of verbs, and they only occur in verb phrases. They will occur at the start of the phrase, before lexical verb. primary modal auxiliaries.

There are two types of auxiliaries: and Both types have a range of functions, but they are distinct for each type. The "have" "be", primary auxiliaries are and and are used to create different aspects. Aspects indicate whether

The action or state of a verb is complete or ongoing. Primary auxiliaries are important in the construction of questions and negation. If no primary is present, then "is" is used. They can also be used for emphasis. The modal auxiliaries have a range of functions, mainly in providing shades of epistemic and deontic meaning relating to the lexical verb. They have static and dynamic functions. PREPOSITION Prepositions are used to show the relationship between two elements. If we have to identify a feature of prepositions which is not semantic but grammatical, then it is that prepositions are normally followed by a noun phrase with which they form a prepositional phrase. Prepositions may be simple (a single word) or complex (two or three words). CONJUNCTIONS Coordinating conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses of similar status. Subordinating conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses together in a different way from coordinating conjunctions. They can be simple or complex. They occur at thejuicy bonevery noisily

juicy bone

very noisily

These key words are known as head words. They are the lexical items which are central to the phrase. This is illustrated by the fact that the head words themselves, placed in sequence, normally results in a skeleton sentence which still make a certain amount of sense, and which captures the essence of the full Labrador chewing bone noisily.

skeleton:

Often but not in all cases the key word appears at the end of the phrase.

Five types of phrases:

Noun phrase If the head is a noun

Verb phrase If the head is a verb

Adjective phrase If the head is an adjective

Adverb phrase If the head is an adverb

Doesn’t work that way

Prepositional phrase

Except the preposition phrases all of them may consist of single lexical item. They do not have to consist of at least 2 words. There are two main reasons why we should treat the individual words as phrases:-given the basic principle that words grouped together to form phrases we would not wish to have any words unaccounted for on that level

of clause’ structure.-All phrases have the potential to be expanded: the head word may stand alone, Snakes appear dangerous. or it may be pre modified or post modified. Snake is noun, appear is verb, dangerous is an adjective: it is possible to expand each of British grass these phrases so that they become more than a single word. Ex: snakes may appear rather dangerous.

NOUN PHRASES

May consist in a single lexical item. Noun phrases have de capacity to be long and complex. Ex: These large sugary doughnuts filled with jam and cream/ are really fattening. The second noun phrase is much longer, with additional elements occurring before and after the head noun. Noun phrases have an intentional structure which dictates where additional element occur in a relation to the head noun. Determiners can be subdivided into three categories: predeterminers, central determiners, post-determiners. Determiners only occur in noun phrases. Most typically, premodifiers will be adjectives. It is possible to premodify

Head with more than just one adjective

There is no limit as to how many adjectives could premodify a noun, but unlikely there will be more than 2/3. In speech premodifiers are used far less than in writing.

When more than one adjective appears in the premodifier position, an ordering process may come into play: size, age and colour. Ex: a large old blue suitcase.

Gradable adjectives will occur before non-gradable ones, cause these last ones categorize rather than describe. Ex: A pretty woollen dress.

Noun as well as adjectives can precede head nouns. Additionally, nouns in the possessive forms, adverbs, relative clauses, that-clause, comparative clause, non-finite clause. Prepositional phrases and relative clauses are the most frequent type of post modifiers. Head nouns may be postmodifiers by more than one item.

Pronouns can function as head phrase as well as cardinal numbers and adjectives in the position of a noun.

VERB PHRASES

One major contrast between noun phrase and verb phrase is the much

graterrestriction on the number of elements which can occur in a verb phrase.
Verb might phrase may consist merely of the head word but will be no longer than have been being told off.
A verb phrase which has six elements is rare. The first four are auxiliary verbs, while the lexical verb is a multi-word verb. Auxiliaries are divided in primary (be, have, do) (can, could, shall, should, will, would, and modal auxiliaries may, must, might).
The modal auxiliaries are used to add shades of meaning such as obligations or have be possibility to the verb phrase. The primary auxiliaries and are used to do construct aspects and voices, while is used in question forms, negative constructions and emphasis. present past.
There are only two tenses in English and Present and past tenses do not necessarily refer to present and past time. finite
When a verb is marked for tense is while when a verb is not marked by any non-finite tense is Fred might have arrived.
There is a fixed order in which auxiliary

verbs occur. Ex: “by now” (correct); “Fred have might arrived by now” (wrong).

If the verb phrase contains a modal auxiliary, then tense will be marked as modal.

Each auxiliary dictates the form which the following elements takes.

Although a verb phrase can only contain one modal auxiliary, it can contain up to three primary auxiliaries. Their main purpose is to indicate the ASPECT. The aspect indicates whether the action is in progress or is complete. Contrast progressive aspect perfect aspect between and .

Aspects are combined