- •The Subject Matter of Grammar
- •The Evolution of English Grammars
- •The XX th Century Linguistic Schools
- •Prague Linguistic School (Functional Linguistics)
- •American Descriptive Linguistics
- •Transformational and Transformational Generative Grammar
- •Semantic Syntax
- •Methods of Linguistic Analysis
- •Parsing (Traditional Syntactic Analysis)
- •The Oppositional Method
- •The Distributional method
- •The ic Method (method of immediate constituents)
- •The Transformational Method
- •The Method of Deep and Surface Structures
- •The Functional Sentence Perspective Method (fsp)
- •The Componential Method
- •The Contextual Method
- •The Levels of Language
- •The Morphological Structure of me
- •The Classifications of Morphemes
- •Paradigmatics and Syntagmatics
- •The Asymmetry of a Linguistic Sign
- •Parts of Speech Classifications of Parts of Speech.
- •Notionals and Functionals
- •Heterogeneity
- •Field and Periphery
- •Subcategorization
- •Onomaseological approach
- •The Noun The General Properties of a Noun
- •The Category of Gender.
- •The Category of Number
- •The Category of Case
- •Debated Problems within the Category of Case
- •Genitive Constructions (n’s n)
- •The Article Debated Problems
- •The Functions of Articles in a Sentence
- •The Verb The General Properties of a Verb
- •The Category of Tense
- •Classifications of Tenses
- •The Future Tense
- •The Present Tense
- •The Past Tense
- •The Future-in-the-Past Tense
- •The Category of Aspect
- •The Category of Time Relation (or Correlation)
- •The Category of Voice
- •The Category of Mood
- •The Indicative Mood
- •The Imperative Mood
- •The Subjunctive Mood
- •Points of Similarities with the Finites
- •Points of Differences with the Finites
- •Debated Problems within The Verbals
- •The Functions of Non-Finites
- •Types of Syntax
- •The theory of the phrase
- •Devices of Connecting Words in a Phrase
- •Debated Problems within the Theory of the Phrase
- •Classifications of Phrases
- •The theory of the simple sentence
- •The Definition of a Sentence
- •Syntactic Modelling of the Sentence
- •Semantic Modelling of the Sentence
- •The Notion of a Syntactic Paradigm
- •Structural Classification of Simple Sentences
- •Predicative Constructions Within a simple sentence we distinguish primary and secondary (independent/ dependent) elements, the structural nucleus and its adjuncts.
- •Syntactic Processes
- •The Principal Parts of a Simple Sentence
- •The Secondary Parts of a Simple Sentence
- •An Object
- •An Adverbial Modifier
- •An Attribute
- •Debated Problems within a Simple Sentence
- •A composite sentence
- •A Compound Sentence
- •I. The General Notion of a Complex Sentence.
- •2. The Status of the Subordinate Clause.
- •3.1. Classifications of Subordinate Clauses.
- •3.2. Types of Subordinate Clauses.
- •4. Connections between the Principal and the Subordinate Clause.
- •5. Neutralization between Subordination and Coordination.
- •6. The Character of the Subordinating Conjunction
- •7. Levels of Subordination
- •Syntactic Processes in the Complex Sentence.
- •9. Communicative Dynamism within a Composite Sentence( Compound and Complex) and a Supra-phrasal Unit.
Classifications of Phrases
Henry Sweet classified phrases according to the relations between the head and the adjunct. These relations are of logical and grammatical subordination. He distinguished the following degrees of subordination:- apposition (adjoinment)(Prince Hamlet), agreement (concord) ( these books), government (to see a film). So the criterion, underlying this classification, the degree of subordination.
Otto Jespersen introduced the theory of ranks to understand the hierarchy of elements in a phrase. Elements are not of the same footing, they function as primaries, secondaries and tertiaries. The rank of the element depends on its position. One and the same element can be a primary and a secondary: an exquisitely lovely dress; a vast country and a country doctor ( III II I; II I; II I). We see that the word country can be a primary and a secondary. Prof. Kruizinga distinguished close and loose syntactic groups. In a close group there is a syntactically leading element( poor John, very fragile). In a loose group both elements are independent of each other ( ladies and gentlemen). According to the number of constituents, syntactic groups are divided into double, triple and multiple groups.
Leonard Bloomfield, using the procedure of substitution, identified phrases according to their functioning in larger structures into endocentric and exocentric ones. An endocentric phrase functions as its head constituent (Very fresh milk is on the table = Milk is on the table, students and teachers = students and teachers are in the hall). An exocentric phrase doesn’t function as any of it’s constituents (In the house; John runs away; by running away). None of their elements can replace the whole phrase in a larger structure. Both types of phrases were further subdivided by Bloomfield into subclasses according to their structure. Endocentric phrases are divided into coordinate ones with elements being on the same footing ( girls and boys) and subordinate ones (character-substance phrases: poor John). As to exocentric phrases the relations within them are more diverse. We see here predicative (actor-action) phrases (John runs away), connective phrases ( with John, in the house). Though Bloomfield’s classification was generally recognised in western linguistics, it was still criticised for the discrepancy between the initial (function) and the subsequent (structure) principles of classification. An exocentric phrase is criticised for being a catch-all, as it comprises everything that cannot find place in a better organised endocentric phrase.
Classifications of phrases are based on the presence or absence of the head word. Most scholars divide phrases into headed (poor John), non-headed (in the house).There exist classifications proceeding from the grammatical characteristics of the head word: a nounal phrase (a red rose), a verbal phrase (to run quickly), an adjectival phrase (very beautiful), an adverbial phrase (very coldly), a prepositional phrase (in front of), a conjunctional phrase (as long as). There exists classifications based on coordination or subordination (husband and wife; his pretty wife).There exists a classification based on derivatability/non-derivatability. Some phrases can be derived from a sentence, some cannot be derived (the composition of light music <- He composes light music; the blooming flowers <- The flowers bloom).The phrases of the type in the house, a woman with her children cannot be derived from sentences. This classification was advanced in transformational grammar, which studies correlations between a phrase and a sentence. A sentence can be transformed into a phrase and vice versa. So we see that attributive relations develop on the basis of predicative relations (a new car <– the car is new). Non-derivative phrases are phrases with determiners (articles, numerals) ( several of my friends) The nominal phrases of the type young Jolyon, a perfect fool are non-derivative ones as the adjectives underlined serve as intensifiers and specifiers. They do not predicate.
Prof. V.V. Burlakova distinguishes phrases into kernels and non-kernels. In a kernel phrase the function of its central element can’t be identified. In the phrase a beautiful girl we don’t know whether a girl is a subject or an object. The elements of a non-kernel phrase have the same footing ( ladies and gentlemen). Prof. M.Y. Blokh distinguishes syntagmatic groupings of 3 types: autosemantic groupings, consisting of notional words (a beautiful girl), they don’t depend upon the context; synsemantic groupings, carrying one notional and one functional word (for fear of, at the expense of,) they depend on the context; functional groupings (from within). Functional are conjunctional prepositional phrases. They are analogous to functional words used as connectors and specifiers.
Using the oppositional method we can distinguish the following structural varieties of phrases: headed – non-headed, kernel – non-kernel, derivative – not derivative, endocentric – exocentric, coordinate – subordinate, loose – close, predicative – non-predicative, independently predicative – dependently predicative (his being a bachelor), autosemantic – synsemantic.