Riassunto esame Linguistica inglese, Prof. Virdis Daniela Francesca, libro consigliato English, an essential grammar, Nelson

V AC).

Sentences with Direct Objects can be passivized, in other words transformed to be a passive

sentence, compared to the active sentence. In a passive sentence, the Direct Object of the active

sentence becomes the Subject of the passive sentence. The subject of the active sentence moves to

the end, forming a prepositional phrase introduced by the preposition by. This part can often be

omitted, leaving an agentless passive. The distinction between an active sentence and a passive one

is called voice.

Adjuncts

Adjuncts are non-obligatory constituents of a sentence, which contribute to add additional

information to it. Adjuncts are somewhat mobile within a sentence and can occur at the beginning,

the end or in between a sentence. When they occupy a position in the middle of a sentence, they

are placed between constituents and not within them. More than one Adjunct can occur in the same

sentence, and if they are left out the sentence stays grammatically correct and complete.

The principal information given by adjuncts are of: Time (When something happen), Place (Where

something happens), Manner (How something happens).

Peripheral constituents in sentence structure

Like adjuncts, there are other constituents that are optional and by omitting them there are no

repercussions on the form of a sentence and its grammatical completion.

Some of them are:

A tag question, added to the end of a sentence to seek the hearer’s agreement with the statement.

If the sentence is positive, the tag question would be negative and vice-versa. Sometimes positive

tag question may be used with a positive sentence if the speaker suspects the sentence to not be

true.

A comment clause is a brief clause inserted into a sentence, which expresses the speaker’s attitude

towards what is being said.

A parenthetical is a complete sentence, inserted parenthetically into another sentence. In writing

they are usually enclosed in brackets or dashes. In speech, they are often introduced by and.

A sentential relative clause is introduced by the relative noun which and its purpose is to add a

comment about what has just been said.

A vocative is used to identify the person or persons to whom a sentence is addressed.

Fragments and non-sentences

A good part of communication consists of incomplete sentences or fragments. In Conversation, one

tends to omit the Subject when it is I. Fragments are also commonly used to answer questions.

Fragments are just incomplete sentences, which can be interpreted the same way as a grammatically

complete sentence.

Non sentences have no sentence structure and generally occur without any surrounding context.

They are frequently used in public signs.

Phrases

Phrases are constituents of a sentence that are organized around a main or key word. They consist

of one or more words and there are five major types:

Noun, Adjective, Adverb, Prepositional and Verb phrase.

The noun, adjective and adverb phrase have all a similar structure to one another. The head of a

phrase can replace the entire phrase and it gives the category in which the phrase belongs.

When a constituent is placed before the head it can be a determiner or a pre-modifier, whether that

constituent is closed or open class. If a constituent is placed after a head, it is called post-modifier

and it has usually a complex syntactic structure, which means that they are usually a rankshift (it

occurs when there are a shift in the scale, in other words when at a certain level in the scale there is

a constituent that should belong to a higher rank).

Adverb Phrase

Adverb phrases are the simplest type of phrase. They usually consist of just a head, that can be pre-

modified only by another adverb. Th head can also take a post-modifier that is usually another

adverb phrase.

With comparative adverbs, the premodifier more can have its own premodifier much.

In measuring or quantifying expressions, the function of a pre-modifier is usually performed by a

noun phrase. In comparative construction it is common as a post-modifier a prepositional phrase.

Adverb phrases work as an adjunct in the sentence (adverbial function) or as a premodifier in

adverb, adjective and prepositional phrases (modifying function).

Adjective Phrase

Determiners are not present in the structure of the adjective phrase, and only an adverb can

precede an adjective in an adjective phrase.

The most common premodifiers are degree adverbs, that are called intensifier.

In expressions of measurements or age, a noun phrase may function as a premodifier.

If a standard comparison is involved, it is expressed as a prepositional phrase in the position of a

post-modifier.

The premodifiers more, less, and as can have their own premodifier, that do not modify the

adjective in itself.

The adjective phrase can assume the following grammatical functions: subject and/or object

complement (predicative use), or premodifier/postmodifier of a noun/pronoun beginning with any,

no, some (attributive use). If the adjective phrase has a post-modifier, it cannot be used as a pre-

modifier in a noun phrase.

Noun Phrase

Noun phrases are often introduced by determiners, which do not occur in any other phrase type. A

noun phrase can have up to three determiners and as many premodifiers as it’s needed.

Common nouns freely take Premodifiers and postmodifiers. Proper nouns usually occur without any

modifiers, if not premodifiers. Proper nouns often occur in apposition. All independent pronouns can

function as the Head of a Noun phrase, and the phrase consists in that case in the Head alone.

Pronouns do not usually take modifiers. When numerals are the Head of a Noun phrase, they take a

postmodifier in the form of a prepositional phrase.

There are various methods to identify the Head of a noun phrase: if the noun phrase is simple, one

can ask themselves what “kind of thing” the phrase refers to, however it doesn’t always work. More

tests are the number test (the head changes if the phrase becomes plural) and the agreement test

(the verb and the head of a NP need to agree when the NP is the subject of a sentence).

There are two types of Noun phrases: Noun 1, preposition and noun 2; Noun 2 and Noun 1. Type 2

Noun phrases can sometimes be rewritten as Type 1 Noun phrases, by inverting the order of the

nouns and inserting a preposition.

A determiner is usually the first constituent of a noun phrase, serving as a premodifier. Genitive

nouns are also classified as determiners, thanks to their ability to be replaced by a possessive

pronoun. There can be a maximum of three determiners before a single noun, though that quantity

is not often reached. Determiners can be classified by the position they can take before a noun:

Predeterminers Central Determiners Postdeterminers

Quantifying pronouns Articles Numerals

-all-both- -a/an-the- -one-first-next-

Multipliers Possessive pronouns Other quantifying

-twice-double- -my- pronouns

-a few-another-many

Fractions Genitive nouns etc.

-half-one third- -Amy’s-

Demonstrative pronouns

-this-that-these-those-

Interrogative pronouns

-what-who-

Nominal relative pron.

-whatever-whoever-

Usually central and predeterminers do not co-occur, which means that can only be one of each

before a single noun (non “a the cat” but “a/ the cat”). Every determiner’s role is as the head of a

determiner phrase, that functions as a Determinative in the noun phrase. Most determiners consist

of one word, but some can be premodified by adverb phrases. Determinative phrases are minor

phrases and can not occur alone but only before a noun phrase. Determinatives comes before any

premodifier and only if the adjective has the premodifier has the premodifier too or so, the

determinative and premodifier switch places

The most common Premodifier in a noun phrase are adjective phrases, which can be several in one

Np; other noun phrases, which create a type two noun phrase and can have its own premodifier and

co-occur with an adjective phrase.

The function of a Postmodifier of a Noun phrase can be performed by prepositional phrases; clauses

(relative clauses, -ing clauses, -ed/-en clauses; to-clauses); adjective phrases; adverb phrases, that

usually denote place or direction. The noun phrase is the only type of phrase, which can have more

than one postmodifier. These sequential postmodifiers occur in sequence and separately modify the

Head. These are different from the embedded postmodifiers, which are postmodifiers of a noun in

the postmodifier. Complements are a type of noun phrase Postmodifier, but they have a much closer

link with the noun. The complement plays in a defining role and tells the reader/listener something

precise. The word that in a complement cannot be changed with “which” and it is called

Complementizer that. The complement is necessary to define the head. If a complement and

postmodifier co-occur the complement is positioned closer to the head and is followed by the

postmodifier. Even independent genitive constructions are complements and they are placed closer

to the noun and before any postmodifier present.

Noun phrases are grammatically very versatile. They can function as a Subject; Subject complement;

Direct Object; Indirect Object; Object complement adjunct; Prepositional complement; premodifier

in another noun phrase; in quantifying or measuring expressions can function as premodifiers in an

adverb phrase, adjective phrase, or prepositional phrase.

When there are two noun phrase place side by side so one element identifies the other in a different

way, that phenomenon is called apposition. The two elements are said to be in apposition and one

of the elements is called the appositive. It is often used as a device to clarify the meaning of the

appositive and it’s usually introduced by the word or.

Prepositional Phrase

Prepositional phrases are different from the other phrases: they are always introduced by a

preposition, which always performs a prepositional function. It is, along with verbs, the only

constituent that has a one-on-one relation between functions and grammatical category.

It is always followed by a prepositional complement, commonly a noun phrase- being a case of

rankshift. Some preposition can also take an -ing clause or an adverb phrase.

Premodifiers are relatively rare, and they usually occur in measuring or quantifying expressions with

a noun phrase. Prepositional phrases almost look like noun phrases, but they are replaced by the

adverbs then or there.

As both the preposition and the prepositional complement are obligatory, there is no head.

Prepositional phrases can work both as an adjunct or postmodifier in noun and adjective phrases.

Verb Phrase

Verb phrases are entirely composed of verbs. They, opposed to the other phrases, do not have

heads, premodifiers, or postmodifiers. Only one verb is obligatory, called the predicator or lexical

verb, while the others are auxiliaries. The first auxiliary verb functions as the operator, while the

others are simply labelled auxiliaries. The direct object can