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SYNTAX – (STILL) English Language
SYNTAX – (STILL)English Language
But first – back to morphology.
“-ed”“kick” to “kicked”
“cold-blood”
Phrase?
Subject?
Predicate?
Identify the verb (v), the subject (s) and then the rest of the predicate(x)
in the following sentences: Angus threw the letter away
The speeding car swerved around the corner
She made a beautiful pavlova
The people at the convention were amazed
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So what is a clause?
A clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a predicate.
A main clause can stand on its own as a sentence.
He ran a fast race.
We love English Language.
She opened the door. I love homework.
He is the best.
A main clause is often called an independent clause, for obvious reason
A subordinate clause cannot
stand on its own as a sentence.
He ran a fast race due to all of his training.
We love English Language because of the teacher.
She opened the door to let him in.I love homework because it makes me smarter.
A subordinate clause is often called an dependent clause, for obvious reason
A relative clause is a subordinate clause
that describes a noun that it relates to.
The artist who did the painting is over there.
This is a great class that has a great teacher.
This is the house that Jack built.
He is the teacher who helped us with our work
An adverbial clause answers the questions
“how”, “when”, “where”, and “why”
about the verb.
As she entered the room the girl screamed because she saw the ghost
When did she scream? Why did she scream?
main clausesubordinate clause subordinate clause
Divide each of these sentences into a main clause and a subordinate clause.
When we got to the airport the plane had gone
The little boy hurried through his dinner so he could have his dessert.
Before we finish, we must complete this one.
Divide each of these sentences into a main clause and a subordinate clause.
When we got to the airport the plane had gone
The little boy hurried through his dinner so he could have his dessert.
Before we finish, we must complete this one.
Divide each of these sentences into a main clause and a subordinate clause.
When we got to the airport the plane had gone
The little boy hurried through his dinner so he could have his dessert.
Before we finish, we must complete this one.
Divide each of these sentences into a main clause and a subordinate clause.
When we got to the airport the plane had gone
The little boy hurried through his dinner so he could have his dessert.
Before we finish, we must complete this one.
Sentences are made up of various
configurations of phrases and
clauses.
SIMPLE SENTENCE is one which
contains one single clause.
They went to school.
We had a great time!
I love English Language.
Could you answer the phone?
A COMPOUND SENTENCE is one which is made up of two
or more simple sentences joined by a conjunction or
separated by a comma, semi-colon or colon.
They went to school because they like learning.
We had a great time but we wish we had more homework!
I love English Language because we have a great teacher.
Could you answer the phone because I am eating?
A COMPLEX SENTENCE is one which is made up of a main clause and one
or more subordinate clauses.
They ran as if they were being chased by a mad man.
A COMPLEX SENTENCE is one which is made up
of a main clause with one or more subordinate
clauses.
They ran as if they were being chased by a mad man.
If the box breaks the books will spill out everywhere.
A COMPLEX SENTENCE is one which is made up
of a main clause with one or more subordinate
clauses.
They ran as if they were being chased by a mad man.
If the box breaks the books will spill out everywhere.
A COMPLEX SENTENCE is one which is made up
of a main clause with one or more subordinate
clauses.
They ran as if they were being chased by a mad man.
As she entered the room, the girl screamed because she saw the ghost.
If the box breaks the books will spill out everywhere.
A COMPLEX SENTENCE is one which is made up
of a main clause with one or more subordinate
clauses.
They ran as if they were being chased by a mad man.
As she entered the room, the girl screamed because she saw the ghost.
If the box breaks the books will spill out everywhere.
An ELLIPSIS is the omission of words from a sentence,
either because they appear elswhere or because they
can be worked out from the context.
Got it?
Sentence types… DECLARATIVE – statements or sentences that
state facts
IMPERATIVE – commands or sentences that give orders or requests
EXCLAMATIVE – sentences that express a strong feeling of emotion
INTERROGATIVE - questions or sentences that ask for an answer
It is very cold.
Do not go out in the cold.
Gosh it’s cold!
Are you cold?
Activity 1.Identify sentence types – for example,
imperative, declarative, exclamative, interrogative – in the following.
1. Are you going on Saturday?2. Take your shoes off.3. I couldn’t believe it!4. Get the milk while you are out, will you?5. Who do you think will win?
Imperative
Interrogative
Exclamative
Imperative
Interrogative
The way in which we structure sentences affects their meaning. STRUCTURAL AMBIGUITY occurs where sentences or utterances have more than one meaning. The following sentences are structurally ambiguous. Paraphrase each in two different ways to show you understand the two meanings.
1. The boy saw the man with the glasses2. When the building caught fire, the family sought
safety in their pyjamas3. Dinner will be served in the large girls’ room4. Lee told his brother he had won the prize.
Activity 2.
Re-arrange the following words to make sentences
except, I, on, always, in, when, talk, a, doodle, hurry, phone, I’m, when, I, the, through, Ted, him, with, if, I’m, tell, him, see.
Activity 3.
Can you list the following words under their correct word class?
(Hint: some may belong to more than one word class)
make, do, I, rubber, though, none, was, can, girl, will, and, said, thing, the, a, biscuit, tough, from, in, with, brain, you, is, icing, like, know, aardvark, going, this, saw, that
Activity 4.
What does a relative clause do?
What’s the difference between a compound sentence and a complex sentence?
What does structural ambiguity mean?
Activity 5 – pop quiz.
