Functional Grammar

FUNCTIONAL SLOTS

SUBJECT may be filled by: NG / AG / embedded clause

• PREDICATOR

• OBJECT: entity the Subject does the Predicator to

• COMPLEMENT: NG / AG that refers to the same entity as the Subject or describes it (w/ verbs

• like be)

ADJUNCT: AG / prepositional phrase giving some kind of background info about the event/

• state expressed by the Predicator

→

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE 2 major roles

1. Postmodifier/Qualifier in a NG

→

2. Adjunct in a clause provides info about the Circumstance of the Process / can be moved

→

EMBEDDING allows a unit to be expanded by inclusion of another unit from a higher/same rank

/ main site is the NG, Postmodifier

Prepositional phrase + Nominal Group

→

PP normally a simple preposition

→

NOMINAL GROUP COMPLEXES sometimes 2 or more groups combine as a single constituent

to jointly fulfill a function (Subject/Complement)

[3 =/= subjects: 1) grammatical (interpersonal) / 2) logical: actor (ideational) / 3) psychological: theme

(textual)]

IDEATIONAL METAFUNCTION

field: what’s going on / transitivity + logico semantic relations

logical subject: actor

→

experiential logical

• →

transitivity taxis (interdependency) / logico-semantic relations (expansion/projection)

• system that defines how experiential meaning is represented in the clause in terms of Processes,

Participants and Circumstances

→

VERBAL GROUP PROCESSES second verb expresses the process, first modifies process in

some way

TRANSITIVITY structure:

→

PROCESS verbal groups

1. →

material process physical actions: actor + goal + range + beneficiary

• →

relational process states of being/having

• a. attributive processes: carrier + attribute

b. identifying processes: identifier + identified

→

mental process thoughts/feelings: senser + phenomenon

• →

verbal processes talk about what is said: sayer + receiver + verbiage

• →

existential process existence: existent (follows ‘there is/are’)

• →

behavioral process involuntary psychological and physiological activity: behaver

• →

causative process x makes y do something: initiator/agent + causative + actor + process +

• goal / attributor + relational (attributive) process + carrier + attribute / assigner + relational

(identifying) process + identified + identifier

→

a. initiator when caused process is material

→

b. attributor when caused process is relational: attributive

→

assigner when caused process is relational: identifying

c. →

PARTICIPANTS nominal groups

2. →

3. CIRCUMSTANCES (optional) adverbial group / prepositional phrase / nominal group

time / place / cause (reason / purpose / behalf) / manner (means / quality / comparison) / accompaniment /

contingency / matter / role / angle

→

TAXIS refers to the dependency status of the clauses in a clause complex (combination of 2 or

more clauses into a larger unit, with their interdependence shown by explicit signals)

→

hypotaxis unequal relationship in which a clause is dependent on another (α , β )

• dominant dependent

primary verb includes the Mood of the clause / can be finite or non-finite

• secondary verb expresses the event, or in transitivity terms, the process / always non-finite, can be

• in the to-infinitive form or in the -ing form

→

parataxis equal relationship in which a clause follows on from another (1 , 2 )

• initiating continuing

- →

reported clauses can be both paratactical and hypotactic

- →

embedded clauses don’t form clause complexes, no para/hypotaxis, use ([[ ]])

LOGICO-SEMANTIC RELATIONS

→

EXPANSION one clause expanses on the meaning of another in various ways (adds

• specifications) / semantic work ~ conjunction / divides in 3:

→

extension extends/adds to it by addition (and, but) or replacement (or)

(+) →

paratactic what is normally called coordination / and, paraphrased ‘and also/similarly’

• →

hypotactic while/whereas / if clause + negative, paraphrased with ‘either … or alternatively’ / semantic

• relation between the primary and the secondary verb is one of conation = idea of trying and succeeding/

failing (try to/succeed -ing/manage to/avoid -ing/can’t help -ing/fail to)

→

elaboration gives more info about what is already there

(=) →

paratactic normally is in apposition to the preceding clause / can be paraphrased with ‘in other words/to

• be precise/for example’

→

hypotactic called non-defining relative clauses / normally follow the element immediately / most likely

• introduced by who/which/whose/where/when / semantic relation between the primary and secondary verb

is one of phase: reality-phase, based on appearance (appear/seem to be) and realization (prove/turn out to

be) + time-phase, based on duration/inception (keep (on) -ing/continue to -ing/go on -ing/begin to -ing/starts

to), conclusion (stop -ing/ceases to -ing)

enhancement

(x) →

paratactic similar to extension / conjunctions as so, yet, but, and then, and yet, however, therefore

• →

hypotactic adverbial clauses, similar to adjuncts as they specify aspects of the dominant clause (when/

• why something happened) / paraphrased with ‘after/because’ / semantic relation between the primary and

the secondary verb expresses a more articulated circumstance, modulation:categories of time,

manner:quality (insist (on) doing = do perversely/hasten to do = do quickly/venture to do = do tentatively/

hesitate to do = do reluctantly), cause:reason (happen to do = do by chance), cause:purpose,

contingency:concession, accompaniment →

i. embedded expansion in nominal groups function: postmodifier/head

→

internal expansion between clauses / is concerned with connection between what the speakers says and their

• justification for saying it/between moves in the exchange

→

external expansion establishes a relationship between processes of the external world

• →

PROJECTION one clause projects another in the sense that it indicates that the other is a

• →

‘second order’ use of language language not our own, but differs from the original utterance /

uses reporting verbs / joining of clauses through locution (“ verbal process: saying / claim to/ask to/consent to/

) / idea (‘ )

refuse to/promise to mental process: thinking / intend to/like -ing/consider -ing/hope to/want to/love to/hate to/enjoy -ing

→

(a) embedded projection in nominal groups qualifier = embedded projection / nouns +

projected clause with that (finite) or of (non finite) / nouns + projected clause with if/

whether/wh- (finite) or whether/wh- (non finite)

→

facts type of embedded progression where no sayer or sense is involved / ideas without a thinker /

• anticipatory it

INTERPERSONAL METAFUNCTION

tenor: who is taking part / clause as exchange / mood + modality + appraisal

grammatical subject

→

MOOD system that defines how interactional meanings is enacted in the clause in terms of what

the clause is doing, as a verbal exchange between speaker/writer and audience / 2 components:

→

1. SUBJECT entity the speaker wants to make responsible for the validity of the clause

→

may be NG / (postmodifying) embedded clause // when S is an embedded clause common to find an anticipatory

→

‘it’ in the normal S position, with the embedded appearing at the end of the clause of which it is S both it +

embedded are S

→

FINITE first functional element of the verbal group /

2. consisting of 2 functional elements (predicator

+finite) that can be fused but always becomes explicit in y/n questions

→

tense when the proposition is valid / past/present/future

a. →

b. modality to what extent the proposition is valid/the proposal is being imposed / can/

could/must

→

c. polarity whether the proposition is about positive/negative validity / y/n

3. RESIDUE (optional / not relevant)

→

predicator non finite part of verbal group

• →

complement object/direct complement, element that has the potential of being the subject

• but isn’t →

adjunct adverbial group / prepositional phrase / 3 types

• →

a. circumstantial adjunct experiential perspective, ‘performance’

→

b. conjunctive adjunct ‘discourse markers’ / signals how the clause fits in with the

preceding text / textual meanings / not Mood nor Residue

→

modal adjuncts interpersonal function / includes in Mood / 2 main groups

c. →

comment adjuncts comment on the clause as a whole / often separated from the

A. rest of the clause by commas

→

B. mood adjuncts express meanings associated with Mood

→ →

(i) declarative clauses Subject^Finite tense

→

- exclamative clauses (wh-) + Subject^Finite

→ →

y/n interrogatives Finite^Subject polarity

(ii) →

wh- interrogatives Finite^Subject

(iii) imperative clauses

(iv) →

- unmarked forms: no mood Subject not specified, it can only be referred to the Addressee +

Finite usually doesn’t appear/if it does, it’s to signal negative polarity (don’t)

- marked forms →

a. Subject ‘you’ Finite^Subject / Finite only for emphasis

→

Subject ‘you+me’ Finite^Subject / let’s = Subject +Finite only for emphasis

b.

tag question: repeats the two elements in the Mood at the end of the clause, making Finite explicit.

only independent clauses have a choice of mood / express speech roles:

→

1. non-finite have no mood they aren’t finite

→

2. dependent finite clauses no mood can only have Subject^Finite ordering

TEXTUAL MEANINGS

mode: what’s the role / clause as message / theme + rheme + non-structural cohesion

→

psychological subject (textual) that which is the concern of the message

→

COHERENCE mental phenomenon / 3 types of cohesive reference:

third-person personal pronouns

(1) demonstratives (this, that, these, those) + locative and temporal deictics (here, now, then)

(2) →

comparative ‘another, different, the same, similarly’, ordinal numbers

(3) →

TEXTURE aspect of COHERENCE / quality of being recognizably a text rather than a collection

of unconnected words/clauses

→

COHESION set of resources for constructing relations in discourse that go beyond grammatical

structure / effect: coherence/coherent text (cohesion>coherence>texture)

- STRUCTURAL COHESION:

→

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