4 English Grammar for Today ‘A new introduction Geoffrey Leech Margaret Deuchar Robert Hoogenraad MACMILLAN cmon in© Gootrey Lote, Margret Deucher, Robert Hoogearia 982 Allright reserved No eprouton, copy or tansmison of ‘hs pbs maybe made wit weten permission, No pararaph ofthis puiearon maybe reproaced, cope or ‘suited ve with writen prin on accordnce wi the poinnn Ue Coppa Dei so Pos Act 508, ‘rater the tame oan once pernstng aed copying {Suey he Copia Liens Agony, 9 Totem Cou Rosa Loudon WIP SHE. Ay person wh dos ay wuts act in elation his ueton ay einen exis rsecaton ad ie for damage. int publi 1982 by ‘THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Hovngrl, Bsinguoke, Hampshire RGD 2XS td Landon ‘Compania eresenstves throwghow he wer ISBN 0-333-3054-0harcover ISBNO-335 506409 paperback Printed in Hong Kong pene 1982 (wth caren), 1984 with eiso), 955 (ic), 1986 987 98,1980, 1981, 1983, Contents Foreword Preface Symbols and conventions (o ean a: TRODUCTION 1 What grammar sand isnot ‘Grammar apd ole in language “Good” ant ‘bad? grammar Variation in language [English and other languages Grammar and effective communication ‘Grammar in prose style (Grammar in poetry Conlon Everciet PART B: ANALYSS 'D Sentences and thei parts 21 Prologue: pris of spech 22 Thehierschy of units 23° Grammatial notations 24 Uaing teats 255 Form and fonction 25 Summary Beeries 3 Words 31 Open and closed word cases 32 The open dases 34 Sommary and conshsion Beerciaes 30 2 36 37 ry 56 ss 2 B 4contexts Phrases 41 Clans of pha 42 Mainand ubardaate phases 43° Noun phases and related phrase clases ‘44 The adjective phase and the deb pase 45° The ver phrwe 46 Sommay Beeres tense Sil Elements of the cause 52 Complex sentence 53 Finite and nonfnte clauses 54 Declarative interogatie and imperative clause SS Actie and passive aus S16 Move on clause structure 57 Cause paters 58 The structure of non-finite causes 59 Parsing simple sentence 5.10. Summary Beeries ‘Subordination and coordination 61 Subordinate causes 62 Fite subordinate causes 63. Tae functions of subordinate causes 64 Nonfinitesubordinas causes 65 Direceand lndivest sbordiation 66 Skeleton analyse 67 Coordination 63 Summary and conclusion Exerc: asic and derived structures Ta Constventstrectare grammar 72 Badeand derived strotures 73 Mising’ elements 74 Sot eonstiuents 73 ‘Double analysis" 715 Back to parsing 7 58 0 85 7 n 1% n * » 2 2 84 86 "7 3 31 93 100 01 105 1s 107 109 mL Eo 93 113 13 us us 119 120 123 17 78 contents Style and transformations ‘Summary and coneusion Beercaes % pant c: aeucarions | | : | Tnodctory Speech and wating: which comes ist? unclons of wating and sesh ‘The form of speech and wring Linguistic harcterstics of speech and wating ‘Azalyss of spoken and written diesouree Cencusion Tnsrodustory ‘Tenor ‘Teno and discourse Domain Domain and dicoure Combining categories of use Exerebe Analysis of literary discourse 101 102 103 104 How toamiyse syle lutrative extract Outine analysis Further iustatve extracts for dacuson Bxerises Grammar and problons of wage ‘Opinions about grammar Prescriptive "les ‘The pests of wage The problem of personal pronouns The problem of number concord ‘The problem ofthe goer matcline Probleme of lips 2s 128 ne 145 us us 146 150 151 153 uss 158 se 166 1st 168 110 m m im 114 usvi Bn contexts 11.8 Dangling on-fnte claves 119 Condusion Exeries Grammar and composition re 122 03 08 n3 126 Answer to exercises Fur Index er realire 180 181 182 186 184 190 191 we 193 ws 199 2s 28 184 Foreword ‘Voisin the Baglsh Asoiation ave been urpng for some tine tat ‘he moment ip for anew English gramsar fr usin schools colleges nd univers and the Amoiation hasbeen fortunate in bringing to (ber tee authors whowe distinction and experi eminently qualify ‘em fr the task and' pubsher long established inthe Se. Tt i probably true to my that not many years ago sucha book could aly ave attracted a publisher, fortwo very good resons, “The clmate of opinion has for long been unftvoursbi to ving rammatial teaching to nati speakers of English. From cases that Sle need not go into ere, the old tradition of school grammar wane. “Grammnas foc Toei Ierers was acknowedged to be unavoidable the eet us could manage without. And 4, of course, many of us aid; Sd perhaps we fet the language survived qltehappily when we dd not {Ook too Cony, whether 4 teachers cea students ofa nea users fof the language, 3 he imprecision, the incoherence and - let us const often the incompreenablity of much of what we read or even ‘wrote in oar everyday Ines, SA ceond reason Wat severly practical ti after al, ot ong since Profesor Randolph Quirk complained of the absence of any yound {sterion by which to establish what really was acceptable English: the Srter ofa feching grammar iat the grammatical lewel lost Tatiely without « body of descriptive data, and so he has to rely {angel on a hesitant and nertain introspection ino his own wsage o is intuve knowedge "That the situation has changed is due in great measure to Professor {Quik and his collages inthe Surey of English Usage, at University College, London, and to its daughter project at the University of Tancancr, where Profesor Leech and is colleagues are investigating * Rando Ql, comsen na tee rp in i ss on a ei [gue Med and Moore (Lomion Longman 1968110x FOREWORD present-day English withthe si ofthe computer. By far the most im povtant achievement of thi new emphasis on the study of Engh [arma through ft usage in the Isngusge Ie surely the monumental ‘Grammar of Contemporary Engiah which is widely regaded as sutbortauve. “Authorttiw’, Uke the word ‘authority’ ie kely to sais hackles, snd 4 te prope to point ou that it authoritative statements of the ‘ts of English today that aren question, not rulesastohow weshould| ‘or should not expos oureles Re there wilbe, based on unqueston- thle fat, but often It sa mater rather of grades of acceptability. We Tateve ther is now a growing body of option eager for direction of| ‘hirkind, WWehope that Bln Gramma for Today willsere a vatsbl ool for students, however litle thlr Koowlodge of eemmaticl terms, a alo for teacher, whether Inclined more toa traditional or « modem fpproach, who belive thats rstumn to 2 viglant and welinformed tad towards the language they use and lve slong overdue "The English Assocation Is grateful to the authors for the care they ‘nave gen to the prepartion ofthis book, and to thos ofits members snd offs Executive Comittee who red earier drafts and contated suggestion for improvement. Further sugestios from readers wil be ‘wolomed. GEOFFREY HARLOW (Chairman, Publications Subcommittee, The English Assocation, 1 Priory Gandess, Bedford Pak, Tendon, W4 ITT * by Rai Gu ey Gnomes ah etx Sati (Goosen: Lona, 17 Preface “his is an lataductory outs in English gramma for use in Engish- ‘madi schools, coleges aa universities, Lamentably, theresa present to recognised ple for Engluh grammar in the Brith educational Cuca, En fact 8 ll possible fora student to end up witha degre in Engl ate Brishunivesity without having case to know tho fst thing about English grammar, or the grammar of any other language Buti we ace rights supposing that the time sight fora real of the subject in schools, tte wil be » rowing acd fr introductory ‘Soursey at various level, Thu thie bok as a multiple parpos. I ‘rimily designed as coursebook fr salents atthe upper secondary ‘Boe (oc forms) and the tetary level oles, polytechnics, ulver- Stes), but it is also adapted to the needs of teacher intersted inex loving ¢ new approach fo grammr, or of any person keen fo catch UP ‘th subject 50 wetchedly neglected by our education system. If grammar is to besome tal subject inthe English eusicaum, we tye fo enor finally the spectre of Browring’s grammarian who Gave us the doctrine of the enclite De ‘Dead from the wast down, ‘Rober Browning, The Gramimarions Funerl) ‘That spectre sll aunts our colectve consciousness inthe form ofa Viciorun schoolmaster instilling gulty felings about split infntivs| And dangling prtepee, and vague Tears that grammar may prove tobe fothing els tha hacking the corpses of sentences to pieces and stick ing labels onthe resting fragments. That is why’ some ofthis book i evoted to the correcting of preconceptions. Part A Intoduction is meant to provide «reorientation: dspeling myths, and seeking 2 new {Appa f the veoe uc yanmar i peewneday eduction. Pert B. “Anaya is the man ar ofthe book, presenting a method * {ng the grammatial structure of sentenoes, Pat C, “Applicatx FOREWORD roent-day Enlish with the ald of the computes. By far the most i fortant achievement of this new emphass on tho study of English fzammar though is sage inthe language surely the monumental Grammar of Contemporary Engish, which is widely regarded a suthorte. “Authortie’, Uke the word ‘authority, likely to raise hackles, ‘and so ts prope to point ou that it authoritative statements of the faetoF English today that are in question, not rulesasto how we should ‘or should aot expos ourselves. Rules there willbe, based on unguston thle fat, but often it isa mater rather of pades of acceptability. We belive there is now 2 growing body of opinion eager for direetion of this kind, ‘We hope that English Grammar for Today wilsere as valsble ool for students, however lite thelr Knowledge of grammatical tems, and also Tex aches, whether nclaed more to a tadltionl or a modem Spproach, who Talive that a rtura to a viglant and wellinformed tude towards the language they use and love i long overdue. ‘The English Association Is grateful tothe authors for the care they ‘havo given to th preparation of this ok, ani to thos ofits members sd of its Executive Commitee who red ear rafts and contted Suggestions for improvement. Further suggestions from readers wil be swolomed GrorFREY HARLOW Chairman, Publcations Subcommittee, ‘The English Assocation, 1 Priory Gardens, Beford Park, indon, W4 ITT 1 by Randolph Qu, siney Geetuun, Guotoy Leech and Jan Snrteik (onion: Longa, 1972), Preface ‘This isan Intodetory course in English grammar for ase in English ‘medium schools, colleges and universities. Lamentably, thereat present ‘0 recogaised place for English grammar in the Buitsh educational uric, fn fact i stil possible for astuent tend up witha degree in Englah at Beith university without having cause to know the fist thing about Engish grnumar, or the grammar of any other langue [Buti we are ight fm supposing that the ime is ight foc a real of| the subject in tahool, tate wil be a rowing need for introductory ‘courses at various levels. Thus this book ha a multiple purpose, Ii ‘Primal dened st couse book for stents atthe upper secondary {evel (ech form) andthe teary level colleges, polytechnic, univer sites), but iti abo adapted tothe needs of teachers interested inex ploring «new approach to gram, or of say person Kees to catch up ‘with eobjec 40 wetchely neglected by our educational syste if grammar isto become a ital subject in the English curiculsm, we tye fo exocce finally the specte of Brownings grammarian who ‘Gave us the doctrine f the ence De ‘Dead irom the wait down, (ober Browning, The Grammartan’s Funeral) ‘That spectre stl aunts our collective consciousness inthe form ofa ‘Victorian schoolmaster inating guy feelings about split infntves Ain dangling participles, and ygve fers that grammar may prove tobe nothing else than hacking the corpse of satences to pieces and stick ing ibels onthe vesting fragments. That s why some ofthis book i ‘devoted tothe correcting of preconceptions. Pat A, “ntoducton is tneant to provide a reorientation: dapeling anys, and seeking 2 new fppmisil GF the vue of grammar tm presutay education. Pat Dy ‘Analysis the main prt ofthe book, presen ¢ method fr dese ing the grammutial structure of entenoes. Past C,“Applations showsxi PREFACE how this method of analysis can be used in the study of style i its broadest sense and inthe development of writen language ls. ‘The ystm of grammatical analysis introduced in Part Bisinluenced by the semle grammar of McA. Halliday, and more directly by that found ia Randolph Quis etal, A Grammar of Contemporary English (1972) ands adaptations ia Quik and Greenbaum, A Unvesty (Granonar of Englth (1974) and Leech and Svar, A Communicabe Grammar of Engl (1975). 1s feamowork which hasbeen widely ‘opted inthe tudy of Eglh by notaative speakers, making informal ‘we of moder developments in lnguiss, but not departing without {good reason from tadiona terme snd eitegories which aze to some {xtent a coramon cultural hetage of the Western world. Naturally the Framework has had to be considerably simplified. Grammar, for our purpot, is defined In a ntrow sense for which nowadays the tem ‘Symax is someties usd. It means roughly “the rules for constructing sentences out of words and it excludes, tcl speaking, the study of ‘what words and sntencs mean and how the ae pronounced. ‘Exerees ave provided atthe en ofeach chapter, bat ther funtion fn each Pact somewhat diferent. For Par A the execs ae merely fn encourgement towards thinking on new ins about grammar. Ia Part B the exerces are mush mote fully integrated into the leaning process, important for students to et thelr progres ia understand- tng the sjeem hy doing the exercnes where diated, In part C the exercises in Chapters 8-10 invite the student to try out the system of (wammatial analysis on diferent styles and varieties of English. Here [ram wil be seen in relation to other levels of langue, euch ‘eaning and vocabulary, as pat ofthe total funcdoning of language a ‘ communiation system, "The book can be ued a a course book, each chapter providing one cor two weeks work, though the exercises are varied in form and pur pote, Some exercises const of problems with more or less defite Snswers and in those cass answers are gen atthe back ofthe book (p.199-214), Oiherexereies are openended tasks fo which no answers tt be piven, The exercles which have anowers provided are so ndicted by the rosvzeference ‘answers on. 00 alone the heading. Thus Mae using the Book for peat sty wil ain some feedback, while ‘eachers using the book ata course book wil fad enough material for ‘woek-by-veek preparation and discusdon, in addon to the exercises ‘which students may check for themselves. Following the Answers to Exucss, we lit books and aris for Further Reaing (on pp 215-17). The ist alphabetical, andon the fe ‘ccaion in the text where we need to refer to one ofthe works sted, references ae given by the author's name, the tie, and the date of PREFACE ai publication: og “Crystal Lint, 1971" It would be imposible to [ive due ered to grammars and ther scholars whose work and ideas [ve influenced this book deel or iniecly; where such Meas have ‘Become part of the curtency of present-day linguistic, we make no attempt fo do. “though the book does aot Include a losary of technical terms, the function of sich a losury can be matched by careful use of the Index, in which technical terms of grammar ae listed alphabetically, ‘ogetier wit the pages on which they are introduced and explained. "We tank Martin MeDonald for providing us wth the material quoted on pp 131, 193, 135-5 ‘We owe a general debt 10 the English Association, which provided the impetus and opportunity for the writing of this book, and.» more patiolr debt {0 the Chatman of it Publetons Subcommittee, Geofivey Harlow, and to other members of the Asocation, especialy Raymond Chapman, who have piven us encouragement and detaled uldance Lancaster CCEOFFREY LEECH August 1981 MARGARET DELHAR ROBERT HOOGENRAADSymbols and conventions ‘The szetons whore the symbol or convention is fist intoduoed, and where the grammaticsl category i most fully discussed, are here shown in backs Labels Function label An Advetblal(253;5.13) My Main verb (25.3348) Aue “Ausliny web G53; 0 Objct @25.2;5.1.2) 43) 04 Dizet abject 5.5). © Complement 253:5.12) OF Indirect object (5.6) Object complement (55) Prediestor(25.2:8.1.1) CE Subjecccomplement——S_—_Subject (2$3;5.L1) (23:56) Voc Voeutve 6.) Ho Head 25334.) ‘M_—(Pre-or post) modifier 5341) Form labels ACI" Adverbia cluee (6.1.1; NCL Noun dause(611;62.1) 622) NP Noun phnse 2.5.1: Aj Adjective @5.1;323) 43) AP Adjective phate @-S.1; yp Proposition (2.5333.34) 4a) Por Prepostional cause (62.5) Ay Adwib @5.;324) Ph Fhutse(22) ANP Adve phge(25.1; pn Pronoun (3.13332; G42) 43.2) (CCL Comparative cause PP Prepostional phrase (624) @5:;433) svata01s aND CONVENTIONS w sbordinaingoreo- == N_ Noun (25.1;321) ‘ordiatng) con RCI Relative dase (62.3) junction(31;335) ~ Genitive muzer (4; .hause(22) for Ci, ‘434 ‘Cling. Clen,see below) SCI_Sbortnate clause (5.26.1) 4 Detemniner(3.1:33.1; Se Sentence (2.2), 432) Vi Verb (25.1;322) (sed Enumerator (3.13333) for fuller or operator. GP Gentine phrase 05.5, wet) 434), ¥ Opecatorib (.1;33.) 4 mtenecton (3.1533. VP Vers pra 25.1583) ‘MCL Mais dause (52) Wo Word (22) Composite labels 1, ACI, CCI, NCL and RCI combine with ng, en to form composite ‘abel for nonin dus pes ch tate de Gi hodiae "| GayrAce Neher 6a) Gon “tn ceo ‘Vand combine with o, 5, ed 1 ing, en to form compost label for finite and non ft vec forms: Vo Prewnt tons or base form Ve Third person singular present tense form } (3.2.2,3.36,45.1) Ved Psst tense form Vi Ininsuve (451) Ving “ING or preset participle Yor “Recreate ¥ 2a,a3.483) Specialised ies ‘The folowing symbols are used, mainly in 4.5, for sbelases of Aue and Aus:Mod Modality (45) vibe Primary eb t0be(3.3.6 Past Pasive voice (45) 35) Por Pecective aspect do Dummy? ved do (45; G3) 452) Propewive pet hv rimary vee 4 Ave a3) G35)43) mm Modal mb (.3.6;45)wi SYMBOLS AND CONVENTIONS. “The following particles (3.3.8) are used as their own abel: it ‘empty’ subject there ‘existent there (7.72) oa) for infinitive marker (34) rot saute negation (4) {i soxnd clauses ©) round phases ean) fepraten word constituents ‘hele wo ox more coordinates (6.7) fnclore an optional constituent (2.4.4) links interrupted constituents of sunt (5.13): 0g (he) kit nay [ Labeing ‘The aymbol* (ote) rede an ungrmmatel consicton 25.1. Fon nbls 21) havea ital ail for open cases, lower cat Tor coved le, Tey ace weten as uss before te opening trackt oc before the word: xe(yaYou). Function abe 3.2) arin ain the text whe weting them se raring: cae 8 for S- They are won ar oper before the opening bast or ttre the word: (You! nation pis form ily 21,338) the function els witen hove te form abet es ou, Skeleton analysis 6) rea direlly subordinated constituent (6.5.1, 66) shore tn indie subordinated constituent (6.5.2, 6.6) “The aymbo + (pls) stands forthe coordinating conjunction inked hordnation (67) ‘The comma is usd between coordinates in unlinked coordination Yer) ‘Tree dlagrams (232) S205 9.9m how to bull up uly labelled toe agra, PART A INTRODUCTION1 What grammar is and is not 1.1. Grammar and its role in language [es important fom the ouset that we are dear about what we mean by the teem GRAMMAR inthis boo. Many people think of prammar as Yatherborig schol subject which has tle use in elif. They may Ihave come acoss the concept in Latin 0" lee, in Eaglsh composition, for ln the explanations of teacher as whit poo! or "ba grammar So grammar soften asocatedin people's minds with one ofthe follow- sgammar is completely wrong, but they do not represent the whole plete In tis book we shall se the term grammar inrternce tothe mach anism according to which anguage works when tis sed to communicate ‘with other people. We cannot se ths mechanism eoneretely, becuse it [i represented rather abstractly inthe human mind, but we know i is ‘thae because it works. One way of dessin this mechanism sas a set ‘fale wilh allow us to pot words together in certain ay, Dut wich do not allow others. At some level, speakers ofa language must know ‘those rae, ocherwis they would not be able to put words togeter ins meaningful wy. ‘Even they have never ard ofthe word grammaralnatve speakers ‘of English (le. thowe who have learned Engl ar tel ist langasee) know at least unconscious that adjectives are placed before nouns in English. Thos you would get unanimous agreement among Englsh spurs tat The bie ook ison the ble where Dhe wa adjective, Book s noun) Isa possible sentence, wheteas The Book ble it om the table i not. if we stidy the grammar of our native language, then we ae tying ‘to make expt the mnowiedge o he inguage tat wealreasy hae, We might do this out of pure curiosity a to how Inguage works, but we ‘ight alo find the knowlege wef fr other purposes, We might wish 34 [ENGLISH[GRAMMAR FOR TODAY to teach Engl to frelgnee, or example, of wouk out how a foreign lnnguaps i diferent from our ov. Or we might want 19 work out how the language of poetry or advertang makes an ingact onus, lean (0 ‘tice and improve our own style of writing. ‘So fr weve eid crely that gamma isa mechanism fr puting ‘words together, but we fave si ite sbout sound or meaning. We can Think of paar a Being conta prt of language which lates sound find meaning. The meaning of a message conveyed by language has tobe fonverted into words put tether scording f grammatical rls, nd these word are then conveyed by sound. The term PHONOLOGY iscften| neg to mean the sytem of sounds in language, and seMATIC, the ‘ystems of meaning, However, in thisbook we willbe concerned mainly ‘wih. the central component of language, GRAMMAR, which relates [Phonology and semantic, or sound and meaning. The ilationstip be {ween the thre components in epresered in Flgue Figure 1.1 ‘Semantics ‘Grammar Phonology ‘So meanings are conveyed, va grammar, in sounds but what about ting? One of the eas which many people have about languages that {thas odo withthe watten langage. The word grammar in fact comes from the Grek grapho, meaning wre’, Du although statements the origin of words such at th may be interesting soil, we ean- ‘ot rely on them o tll us the cunent meaning ofthe words reanings Change inte, Tadionaly, grammar di have todo with tho watt tanguge, especially that of Latin, which continuo be stuled and ‘ued ins wtten form log ae It had cand tobe generally spoken. But the waten form of nguage really only secondary toitsspoken form, which developed fist. Chkren ean to speak before they lea fo wie, and whereas they letn to speak naturally, witout tition, from the lnguae they hear around them, they have fo be teu 16 Arte: Ht iyo covert hic speech tox written or secondary Form. Tower, waking performs an extremely important function in out fallure Gee Chptr 8) an inthis book we Bll Wey gemma ab Inechansm for producing both speck and writing. Therefore we can ‘modify our revots diagram as shown in Figure 1.2. WHAT GRAMOUAR 1S AND IS NOT. 5 Figue 1.2 Phonobay ‘Semantics ra ng tems 1.2. ‘Good’ and ‘bad? grammar "The terms good and bad do not apoy to grammar inthe way in which ‘We ate using that term in this book. If we Wew grammar asset of rales ‘whic deserve how we use language, the als themselves are pot good ‘rad, though they may be described adequately or inadequately ins ‘eserition of how the language Works. Linguists who write grammars are concerned with desribing how ‘the language ls ed rather than preserbing how i shouldbe used. So if itis common for people to Use sontenoes sich as Who di you give this, fo? hen te rls of a desrptiv gaammar must allow for this type of Senience nits ues, Thos concerned with prescription, however, might onder this to bean example of bad grammar’ and might sgest that ‘To whom did you gve this would be a better sentence. What is con- ‘dered better ot wort, however fofno concer toa descriptive ngs, fn writing a prommar that acsounts for the way people sctaly se language. If people re communicating efectively with language, then they tmst be following rales, even if those rules are not univesally tpproved. The role of the linguist i thus analogous to that ofthe {nthropoigit who, if asked to desc a yateuar culture's eting Tubts, would be expected to doso without exposing personal opinion fs to what they should be like, The later would be prescriptive ap- ‘roach. lee probably easier, howewer, o avo being prescriptive when eating with cultare other than our ow. Ax spears of oar native language we are bound to have feat or proscriptve notions about how, it soul! be usd. But we should beable to separate the expression of ‘our own opinions fom the activity of describing actual langue se ‘though the foo ofthis book i tobe on descriptive amma, we have to recognise the existence ofpreseriptve rls, uch a that which Says that one sould qoid ending sentence witha preposition. This "Tle wat broken in the example quoted abowe (Who did you gv his tot) because the pepoation #0 & place atthe end of the sentence, reserpine rues are leary not grammatical ues i the sme sense as Ascrpuive roles, so might be eppropriste to cll thr rules of gram- faved! eiquetes Then ove cau > Ul whut some people cll bad ‘rama fe akin to ad mannecs Le refers to something you might Iwan to avoid doing, onl to convey a good impreson ins particular6 ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR TODAY situation, Some people consider it bad manners to put one's eows on| the table wil eating and yet, fom a descriptive olnt of ew, oscars father often, Nevertheless, people who eat regularly at home with their ‘cows on the table might avoid doing it ata formal diner party, simply ‘cae t would not be appropriate behaviour in sucha wetting Sil there are oceasions when being on on theying ules whit one would nat normally obey “Fis ead us tothe point that, as woll a knowing the grammatical rules of language, Is speakers aso have to Know how to we the language appropriately, and this often Involves a choice between dif ferent opto oe diffrent LANGUAGE VARIETIES. 1.3. Variation in anguage 131 Introduction Ii-we were to take + dopmtily prescriptive approach to langue, we ‘nigh suger that tere was Just one, ‘omee™ form ofthe langage ‘which everyone should we, We might reognise that not everyone speaks the correct form of thelnguaz, but we would describe any ther orm simply wrong however, We are to take the descriptive approach explored in ths book, we eaanotdimiss some forms of language a incorrect: we have tobe prepaed to desrbe all ites of language. ‘A deseitve approach fecognises that there are many varieties of @ language auch ae English. We can eatily Americans as speaking ina “ferent way ftom Bitsh people, northerners fom southerners, Young ftom ol, middle cass people rom workinglas peopl, and men from twomen, So language wl vary according to crn characteristics of ts ‘USER. A wie’ speoch may well elect several ofthese characteristics simulianeously for example, young woman may wellspea diferent fiom botha young man and an oder Woman ‘So language cin vary fom user to user, depending onthe users ‘pecsonal characteristic, This 90 meant fo imply that each peron {peaks a uniform variety of languape which never changes, OF course ‘poech may change a personal characteristics change: as young person ‘Becomes olde, a northerner moves south, or socalcas: membership tGhnges asa result of edueaton, for example. In adition, «person's Speech wll ary according to th USE. at speechisput to. or example, the way you tact a filend wil be diferent from the way you alk 0 [Snoaager The wey you tall om the telephone wl be diferent om thn tray you tlk to somoone face to face, and you wil we yet anther ‘avy in wing alter. Your language wil als vary acording to what |WHATGRANBEAR If AND IS NOT 1 you are talking about, e. spor, pots or religion. The variation of Tinpuage eesoring to ite woe menns hat each wor has a Whole range of Tunguage varies which e or ah leans by experience, nd knows how to wse appropriately If you talked in the castoom as you would in the pub, you might be considered ilmannered (dis might be using "bad [zammar fom a preciptive point of vew),and if you addressed your fend as you would your teacher, you might be laughed Ws ow omer tion tng cord rand wt a sore deal 132 Variation according to wee Gharacteritin of the anguage ver which can effect language include the following! reponal oii, social class membership, age and sex. A ‘ful term fn connection with thew characteristics is DIALECT, This it ‘often ded to deserve rial ogi, asin, for example, Yorkshire ‘alot, Cockney (London) dislect, But canbe wsed to refer to any language vrety related tothe personal characteristics sted above. ‘REGIONAL ORIGIN, We ean often tll where a person coma rom by the way he or she speaks. Depending on how far we are withthe aety of a ven region, we may be able to identi, fr example, (Cockney, Yorkshire, Soous (Liverpool) or Geordie (Tyneside) speech, ‘We ean Hentfy speech on the bass of ts pronunciation, voabulry or grammar, For example, in Yorkshire daect, asin some other northern {Edtet he words pu and pur are pronounced slice becaute the vowel found inthe standard or southern pronuclation of words sich as ust, ‘hs, eup ete snot wed. The dict also has its own voeabulary, for trample, the use of che word happen to mean ‘perhaps Fnally,on the level of pramumar, Yorkshire dialect has were asthe ast tense ofthe ‘er De nalts forme, 30 that, for example, he were ishearé commonly Insead of he war, So dnc cn be eatifiod on the lees of promunc- ston, vocsbulary and rama. Voesbuliry end grammar are the mos base levee for describing dialect, since regional pronunciation, or ‘gional ACCENT, can be Used When Speaking standard English swell as when speaking a epional lect "A this plat i should be emphaabed that the term dilect does not imply an ioorect or deviant eof language: itis imply used to mean ‘valet of language determined by the characteris of usr Some tines, however the term may be ued to refer to vareisof the guage ‘which are not STANDARD. The standard language isin fact just another ‘arity or dalect, but ia Beltain i happens to be established os that ‘ety which generally wed by southern Beith, educated speakers ‘F the Langage, and in writing aod in ple usage suchas on radio and “elevision. Ir sometines known as BBC Empl or even ‘The Quen8 ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR TODAY English. Standard Engh ot inherently beter or snre‘pamaaticl? than non-standard English (all varieties ave grammatical in that they {follow ules, but it has prestige for soci athr than linguistic eatons. Its prestige i due tothe fat that it is ultimately based on the speech of educated peopl living inthe southeast of England, whee the in Dortant institutions of goverment and eduction became exsbliha. ‘Because standaré English sth best-Known variety of Engin Brita, ‘we chal ust for analy in Part B of thls book, SOCAL-CLASS MEMSERSHD. The extent {0 which we can identify socials dialects is controversial but te socal clas ofthe speaker foes seem to affect the variety ofthe anguape aod. In Brita there ‘an interesting relationship between socal slat and the we of tanard ‘and nonstandard spech in Ut the “higher” you are up the socal sae, the les lksly you ae to use nonatandand or regionally Aentifable ‘speech, This means that itis not usualy poasble to iSentify the eponal Dackgiound of, for example, an uppe-micdle-cas peaker educated at public schol. Tomake tls clearer, imagine that you tel rom Land's Ed to John O'Groats talking only io Factory workers and taperecoré- ing thei speech. Then, on th way back, you take tho same out, but ‘ecord only the speech of ‘profesional suchas doctors and teaches (On comparing the tapezecordngs you Would expect to find more ‘atiaton nthe speech of the workers that in tha ofthe profesionals ‘The speech of workers would contain higher proportion of features which ae not found in the standard lnguage, Several of these features ‘would be found in more than one aeafor example, done asthe past tense of dois found in both Liverpool and London among werking-as ‘speakers (who might say, for example, done as opposed tod i). "AGE. Lis is Known about tho effect of age on lanevage vation, ‘but there may be grammatical features which disingish ae dialect 0 some exten. For example, the question Do ye hive some money? ‘would be more likely tobe take by a younger speaker of Bish English (tis common for speakers of all ages in American English) thananolder speaker, a the latter would be more lel to say Have you (01 some ‘money? The way young people speak eof pate interes nay ‘be indcative ofthe dieetion in which she language i changing. SEX, Thete seem to be some ingusti dferencesscoording to the speakers sx, though litle i yet known about them, However ceria ‘rammatialfntures have been tzoclted more with wormen han with ‘nen, and it hasbeen found that women are more ely to use standard than men, Tt should by now be cer tat perl character of te language user can combine to affect the varetyof guage wd. The termcilet fas been vse for convenience to Scent the effete ofthese caacts- [WHAT ORAMOAR IS AND IS NOT 9 Inte, ati, for example, reponal det, socials der, ut thee ‘remot ray seprato ones. All he characters ntrat with one Soother, 20 that any individual wl speak a Tanguge vase) made up of features fom several lect, 133 Variation according to te {As was point out in 131, 00 user of language uses one uniform ‘arity of language. Language also varies acording othe se fo which Ite put, Wh he term ditc x convenient to refer to langue Yari- tion according tothe user, REGISTER canbe used 0 refer to vation {scordng to uke Gomer ao known as ‘tle’) Regier can be Suhdiided ino thee categories of language use, each of which affects the language vast. These ate: TENOR, MODE and DOMAWY "TENOR: This has todo with the relationship Between a speaker and the addesee(s) ina pres situation, and soften characterise by seater ‘or lesser formal. For example, «request to close the window might be Would you be so Kind as fo cbse he window? ina forma situation, compared with Shut the window, pews in an informal situation, Formality alo his the effect of producing speech which Is dose tothe ‘andard, For example, a witnesin court might be cael to say He ‘dn’ do, Your Honour, rather than neser done which might be ‘aid to Cockney speaking fends outa the courtroom. A speak has {okaow which sthe ght kind of nguage tows in which drcumetances, ‘ough sometimes the wrong choice may be made debberately, for humors or sarcastic effec. MODE. This ha o do with te effets ofthe melium in which the language is transite. Spoken language used in faetoface situations rakes use of many ‘nonsebal movements sich ay gestures and Tall ‘xpreeonsOnthe telephone, however, the sul chanel isnot rahe 50 that, fr example, Yes has to be substituted for headnodding. In ‘writing only the vil chanel is avalbleso that theofTet of ntonaton, ‘or tone of vic cannot be conveyed, except, in pat by graphic means such as exclnation- and questionsmarks. Witte language usually in- Wolves the additonal curated thatthe adreee, who 0 present, Cannot respond immediatly and this has an effect onthe language For ‘example, in letrs, dict questions tendo be less common than in onverstion, 2 that you might be more ely to write, for example, ‘Let me know vhether you are coming than Are you coming? Ths category of mode is particularly relrant forthe distinction between ‘writen and spokea language, and tis wil be iven further consideration in chapter. DOMAIN. This has to do with how language vases aconding to the ‘actty la which plays part. seminar about chemistry, for example,0 ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR TODAY wll invole a witer range of vocabulary, more technical terms and possibly longer entences than a convertion about the weather (ones by meteoroloits!). Siilry, the language of pal document wl be ferent fom that of an advertisement, and the language ofa rious Service wil be diferent from tht of newspaper eporting. We can ths {efer tothe domaine of chemistry law, religion, and soo ‘As with dnet variation, the categories of register variation ll affect lunguage simultaneously so that we cannot really identify dsrete reuters any more than discrete dialects Also, dialect and repister “arltion interac with exch other since both the dimensions of weer and ‘Ge are aways prevent “To summarise what has been sid in this selon (13), language varies scoring to both wer and use. Cetaln pesonal characteristics wl be reflected in te speech of given petion and that person wil als have sts o a range of varieties appropriate for various ws 1.4 English and other languages 144 What isa language? ‘So far we have shown that a langage such as English has many diferent ‘arses, which reult from a combination of factors. We have aso Shown that these varies ae aot separate entices, and tht although they ean be descubed onthe bas of linguistic Features they cannot be categorically dstinguisod from one another. ‘We have act questioned the assumption, however, that a language snade up of such varieties can be clea distinguished from all other [nnguage. Is true that we have separate labels for diferent languages, eg. Engh, French, Chinese, but the exstnce of labels should not Asie us ino believing that these are linguistically welldefined entities, (One ererion used to define a langage is MUTUAL INTELLIGIBILITY. AC coring to this, people who can understand each other speak the same language, whereas those who cannot do not. But thee are degrees of ‘comprehension, For example, southern Brith English speakers may ave difficulty understanding Geordlo, end American Engish speakers ‘may fad It vitally incomprehensible” Thee even les rutul itl bility In the roup of “dlects refered to os Chinese: speakers of Mandarin, for example, cannot understand Cantonese, though both use ‘the same writen language. On the other hand, n Sendinai, speakers of Norwegian, Dansh nd Swedsh can often understand one another, ‘ven though they speak what are called diferent lnguage. Scandinavia ‘were one political entity, then these languages might Be considered WHAT GRAMOKAR IS AND 1S NOT " lect of just one language. So the cxtesa for defining languages are ten politi and geographical rahor than tcl igus 1.42, Grammatieal rls in English and other Tee iangunge vary reed aba standard langage rather than dialect (sally fornomtingiste reasons), then it as more soci prestige. “This explain, for example, the nstenceof separatists in Catalonia that Catalan i language rather tat a dialect of Spanish, When language Variety dose not have socal prestige, ts grammatical rules are often ‘iematied This ere of the Yule of mutple negation in some English Aigcass or example. Tle rule allows sentences such as den se nothing (1 didn't se anythin), which would not occur inthe standard "The high prestige of the standard leads people to claim that mute negation is wrong because ie ogkal or miseading. However, we have ‘eve ead Freoch sedis complainabout multpeneptionin standard French which has Je ma re, containing tvo negative elements tnd rien, asa teanation ofthe Engl sentence. Moreover, Chaucer fad no lnbition about the mater when he wrote (in the Probgue to the Gaterbury Tale) Ho never yet no ieyaye ne sayde Inaihiriyf unto no mane wight (te never ye dat speak no dicourtesy In ali fe ono kind of penoa") Infact not content wth double negation, he ues four nepatvesinthese {wo tines? Malte negation was perfectly acepablein Chaucer's period. THis mportant for English speaker of whatever variety to ease that other languages or vate may follow diferent grammatical ues, We nnotastume tht othe languages or vretes wifi the famework tthe one we know wel, Thr Kind of mistake was made inthe past by asea scholars who teed to desibe Enlh i the framework of atin. For example, the prescriptive rae that I sgt and 8 me {s wiong comes from assuming tat the dsnction between and me Imus be the same ae the dneton made in Latin between ero and me. ‘Ths ules ota ll descriptive nce Jisme oscurs often In Enlsh. any of us fist become svar of the existence of gammatcal res siteon rom our own when we lear foreign language suchas French, German o Spanish, We find that, for example, the les of wor order in these languages are ifferent from English in French adc objet pronoun must precede the ver rather thaa foo 1.80, fr example, ce hom i ansutd a Je evs tray“ him se), In German the innit form of the verb must be placed at the end ofthe ventnce,2 ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR TODAY ‘2 that, for example, wilgo tomorow santo a Joh werdemorgon sehen ‘iterally“ wll tomorrow go) In Spanish subject pronoun or foun comes after a past participle in question rather tan before, >| that, for example, Have you forgotten the word? is transated as fle ‘olvidedo ated i polaba? (literal, “Have forgotten you the word?) "However, French, German and Spanish sl show considerable simaity to Engh in their grammatical rules, forall four languages belong 10 {he INDO-EUROPEAN group, and have been in cose cultural comtat. In all four, for example, you can form questions by changing the order of words inthe sentence. Ths isnot tive of all languages, however in Japenese, fr example nicht en Indo-Europea naga qucstons tue formed bythe adtion of particle (ka) atthe end ofthe sentence ‘So Suauksan waar meas" Saruktiplng vie Steuktson vw imase a? means Is Mes Suz going” ‘Thee examples have served to vtat tat we must avoid precon- ceptions about the form which grammatical rules wil take in a gven lnnguage or langage variety. Instead, we can find out what these ules axe by observing the way people speck or wate in different situations. ‘Once we have done this, we can return a this Book doesn Chapter 11) {o questions of prescriptive use. 1.5 Grammar and effective communication ‘The maln function of language so communicate with other people. We said in section | 2 hat thre was o such thingas ood!” or bad grammar 1 is legitimate, however, to distinguish between good and bad com- ‘munication. In her wards, language should not be etlusted according to wat typeof grammatical rules i follows, but aconding to wheter 1 conveys its mesage effecvely. Is quite posible, for exazple, to speak oF wit according to the grammatical rules of sandard English, fd yet to produce langage which unclear or dificult ofolow. This Can be described asad syle’ and the folowing examples fom witen English usrate the point (1). Tris ies pote that aa that frend of mine knows pints (2) _Taaw stina book tata former teacher of mine thought of mone @ by cannot dink cold milk thou be bole. @ ‘ano belonging to 2 lady going abroad with an oak case and cared les. (5) The prov of what contribution the public should make to the swimming poo arose (6) Shetan given theo in London vp WHAT GRABBAR IS ANDIS NOT 8 ts interesing to consider why certain sentences are fet tobe ls ue {sly constructed than other In (1) sod (2) he sentences ate pt together ina may which makes them diffical to unmveland understand. For example, in (1) who painted the peture-the gor the ind? Most ‘people wil have fo regead the sentence in order to puzzle out exactly ‘that i's saying ln @) abd (4 to construction ofeach sentence leads {oan ambiguty: what the Welter intended to sty isnot cles sto. ‘This docs not neces imply that che reader cannot workout the {tended meaning. You ae ullksy, for instance, to imagine tha the Tay rather than the mak to be Boded in (3). But you amie at this nck tn spite of grammar rather than eons ff The grammar fpeumits «second meaning, which Ike an ftersmage lurks distracting [the background. In (S) and (6) he dial i that there seems tobe 2 lack of blanc, atophetine in the construction of exch sentence. {To solve this diffialty, one sould change the order of the words 5 fellows (5) The problem arose of what contiution the publi should make fo the swimming Poo (6a) Shea given up the Job in London [At this stage we shal not attempt to explain exact what the matter wrth (I) tis enough to mote that these ae Just three types of dt Fealy do forming sd sterpeting grammatical sentences, ‘Since using anpuage i 4 sil ts ineitable that some people are mote ake inthis espect than other. Thar sno nee to ink from ‘ralaton ofthis il” for example, saying that one writer asa beter ‘ipl of writing than srothe. Is etl fortis purpose, tobe aware ithe grammutclrexources ofthe language, andthe various possibilities thigh may be open tothe wser who wants to make effective use of the EEnguage Ia thi way we gan consis contol ovr the skal of using Tnnguape, This one ofthe rain reasons for learning about pram, ad weal tues to tn Chapter 12 1.6 Grammar in prose style [At the other extzema fom sentences (1)-(6 te the products of itera imasters of pose style, In Iteratre, the resources of the language, cluding grammar, ueed not only for efficent communication of Hens, but for effective comrnunication tna broudersese:communicat- fig an nterpeting people's xpeconce of Me, india an collective ‘This means ting language in special ways, 2 canbe iustated, on ial sale, by oven a short sentence like the flowing“ ENGLISH GRAMMAR FORTODAY (7) To tive ke to love~ all reason Is aglat i, and all healthy inte frit (Gere Butler, NoteBooks) ‘The éifcaty of making ease of (7) s quite different from that of ‘aking tense of (1) and (2). An wouual sentiment is exprased ia ftrikng and unevl wey. This typical of rary expression, rd means that mich meaning s condensed ito few words, Let us bie con ‘der how grammar contabates 0 the effect, parieulsely through ‘paraletion: the matching of one conseutio wih anther, sma one igre 13 ca sul representation o this paral Figure 1.3 wie] lke «| ove all esion ‘Albay instinct is is insti forit As the diagram shows, sentence (7) i cleverly constructed 90 a8 to bring ovt to parlelisns. The fit is one of nlarty (2 Be.0 love) an the sesond sone of contrast (al reason. all heathy insti). ‘The paallms are expremed by symmetry in the actual choice and combination of words, 0 that almom every word inthe wntence is ‘alancod sgncandy against another word. Even the sound of words hslps to undetine these relationships: the analogy between te and ve 4 emphaased by simlar promuncstion, andthe word like, which “radiate betwee the wo, esmbles the forme in appearance and the biter in meaning. Sentences exit primarily ine ather han ingpace,andso the order in which words ocour i portant for Lterary effect. Suppose (7) had read ike tis (7a) To ei ike to Lore ll heathy instincts fort and all reason sensi ‘The remalt woul hae bee to sess Yeason'at the expense of stn — most as i the write were iaviting us all to coms suede, Thi is |WHATGRAOIAR IS AND ISNOT 5 ‘because thar sa general principle (oe 12.23) tat the most newsworthy fd important Information in sentence tends tobe saved tothe end Sentence (7), a Butler writs i sop rather than pessimistic for he plas natin in fumpbaat postion atthe end, adding the ‘word eal for further optimile emphasis The fist par of 7) po- Vides a further example ofthe saiieance of ordering. Let us iapine {hat Butler had weiten To love i lke fo ie. In that as he would be comparing loving with ving’ rather than vce vera As itstands (7) In effex says: "You know about love being the teumph of heathy {instinct over feton, don't you" Now Tm telling you that be el is [ike that? That tho stance Bogine with what we may all shared {eneal knowledge (the traditional conception of love defyiag reason), Sd extends thie wellknown ds to new sphere rather, generaies itt the whole of ie Soi Buller had water "To love js like tole, the whole effect would have been altered, to the baflement of the reader, “Tis extremely simple example shows how much the way we con- strut sentence - the way we put the parts together ~ an conte {o the effect makes on a reader of listener. If we want to understand the wrtues of god writing, whether a studenisof erature, or aswriters ‘urseles, we heed to undertand something the grammatical resources ‘ofthe language, andthe ways in which they may Be exploited, 1.7 Grammar in poetry “The same appli o poetry Poetry and grammar seem tobe poesapat ~ the one mggestve of “he spark o” Nature's fre the other ofthe cold tye of analy. Buta poet Would be fools to procaim Tam above ‘gama fori isby parmaticalehoie that many of the speci mean lage of poetry are schievod. Often these effects show "poeticlience~ ‘the poet's acknowledged prilge of deviation from the rulesor conven tone of everyday Iaguago. Without the rules, of ours, the poet's {ovation from the rules would lav its communicative forge The fllow- Ing short poem, on a nun’ taking the ve, shows some ofthe charactet- fis (In adliion fo thos of mete and thyme) which we may expet {0 find in the language of poe @ Heaven-Haven bre desied to 0 ‘Toads where fes no sharp snd ded hal “And a few les Dow6 ENGLISH ORAMMAR FOR TODAY And have sted to be Where no storms come, Where th green swell iin he havens dom ‘Aad ot ofthe swing of the wa (Gera Maniey Hopi) [Asin (7), but more obviously, word stko up special relationships wth fone antes because of similis of sound snd meaning, and also be ‘ose of slates of grammatical structure. The fst tendency is best ‘itated by the pan i thee, Haling the Words heaven and haven ‘The second tendency i evident in the marked paral of the two stanza, az shown in hi elton esto Ga) hae —edto- And Lhave _edto— ‘Where ‘Where ‘To fields whee Where ed ‘had ‘We could study, further, the unEngish grammar ofthe second ine (Were springs not farther thn Where springs do not fai) the inversion of the normal order of wes inthe thi line (To ll where sno sharp (and sided hay and the postponement of the adjective dumb othe end ‘of the seventh Hine, Sich unusual Testures of prammar contribute toa ‘range disoiation of words fom tet expected contexts that simple nd ocdinary words ike sprigs, les, bow, sl! and sing seem 10 [Main sbpovmal Tore. Ir enovgh hore to point out that the poet's vty in language voles both extra feedom (including freedom to Aepart from the rues of grammar), and extra discipline (te discipline tnhich comes withthe superposition of special structures on language) ‘We shal later (Chaper 10) explore the applization of grammar to the stady of tert, trough specimen anal, 1.8 Conclusion In this chapter we have almed to provide a backcioth forthe study of| English grammar, We ben with a attempt to ‘iemythologe the sub- ject that to dispel rome mlconceptons about grmmas which hae ‘oan prevalent in the pas, ad stl have influence today. "We showed how the notlon of grammar mus alow for variation in language, and that We cannot prescribe the form which grammatical ‘les wi take, We thu ejected the possi of evalusting grammar eal, but went on to show bow language canbe ued fr mote ores ‘effective communication. In Patt Cf this book we wl return to some Of the points which weave managed totals only briefly and simply \WHAT GRAMOHAR I$ AND IS NOT " so far, and we will abo dusete the practical benefits of studying {Pammitforundertanding out language and wing it mor effectively. Part B, whic folows, ims to make you avare of your knowledge ‘of how sandard Enplsh i stroctred. We tall be intoducing gram- ‘tial texniology nd techlgues of anayss that wil enable you to Alesrbe this stroetre Part of understanding grammar i learning how {oo I, so we would urge you fo work through the exercise i each ‘haptr in oder to apply your new knowledge, Exercises vere Lt ‘True fase questionnaire (ots your understanding of the chaptes) ‘The following statements shoal be beled tue or as: (aenerson 7199) 1. Thestudy of grasumar must include the stay of Latin. 3. Grammar canbe ten aes set of rules Walch we follow when we tr teagan. 3, We an follow the grammatcalales of ouraatve langage without Bi owing them comeioul. "The tndy of grammar wi improve your spelling. Grammar ony deals with the ody of wing, because orginally heat wt’ in Grek 6. Chilren ave tobe propely tutored in ther language if they are {lear to speak grammatically. +7, Stuiying grummar voles eraing how people thou speak I sinaowect to end amntence with prepostion 5, Americas English sens grammatical han Brith Engi (0, ‘The way we speak depends, among other things om 8 personal Sharcteais 11, The way We speak to frends is Sentcl tothe way we sesk to 12, Duar inferior to the standard ngaag 13, Pactory workers inthe nor and south of Bala difer more in fir epecc tha Jo doctors 14, The term TENOR reer the pitchef your voiceina given situation, 1S, Whatever you can some inspeech, you canalio convey n wet, 16, Medsie could be comsered a lanztge domain [illanguage follow the sane grammatical rls 1a, AURtEneE nck ic to oncertaod mst be ungrammate 19, The ue of language in erature ithe sme as in convertion, 30, Poets icene in offic permstion to write post.8 ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR TODAY arcse 1 (answers om p199) Qusifiaton of ttences Sttof the folowing sentences have something “wr {fo wook out whether each 'A--ungrammatcel in he snse that it doee aot fllowa ule observable i he lnguags beharour of native speakers of English; 1B “bad etiquette’ from the point of view of prescriptive grammar Geter with them, Ty (© “bad tye" inthe sense tht i doesnot communlsateefecurey 1, Team recommend this candidate for the post for whch he apes ‘vith complete confidence. 2, Taint going nowhere tonight, 3. We'need more comrenersve schools 4, Tovar ornot to was, that be te ask, $1 Thetelines he dene fens deep down things. & How ase yous it han long ine that we don't hve heared from 1 8 5 0. youreain "given the prevent that ad Boosh in the shop in which I Fan met the mato whose house weat yesterday. Him and me ar going othe beach today. ep sl bpd hh ne tn te ae Wt "Ta othe sort of Enaish up with which 1 wil ot pat Exess 1 ansers nd sures on p.200) dentin categories of ruse ua (set 133) ewify the categories of language st in test saps of angus, 8 follows “Tenor formal or iformal Mode spoken or watt, Domin sdvertsing,ouralsm, or eligion ‘Beomple After reading this, other central heating ystems wont 10K fonot. Tenor: informal, Mode: welten; Domain: advertising, 1. The Senate yesterday announced the creation of» nineman com Tutt tovenizate th relationship between Bily” Carter 3d Colonel Qadsatts goverment in Libye. 2, Pine and glory and wislom, thaakapving and honour, rower and iit, beto ou God forever aad eve! Amen [WHAT GRAMDIAR I§ AND 1S NOT 9 Anywhere return stil ont SOP. Contour ing looks sper, it fee mares "what's likely ¢o happen now? Well the Fepert hasbeen vent co {he Director of Public Proseation, new of er certain eden,PART B ANALYSIS2 Sentences and their parts (Grammar ca be bsiely described a6 a set of rules fr constructing and for analysing sentences, The proves of analysing sentences into th puts o” CONSTITUENTS isn as PARSING. In thisand the next ie ‘faplers we shall gradually bud up a simplified technique for parsing English vontences, It parsing sem at first a neptive proces of taking things to ples, remember that by taking a machine to pices one learns how it works, Analy and eyntheiae two aspects ofthe sae process ‘ofunderstanding, Thschapter introduces the main concepts of param, svith examples. you find parts of aia, cw be a comfort to Tinow that all he Sascations of Chapter 2 wl be dealt with in more ‘et ater on 2.1 Prologue: parts of speech 241 Atos First, hore i a shor text which may be sten as avery easy general “knowledge test about English prrnmar. Its purpose is simply to start, you thinking on the ight lines n some cases, no doubt, this wil mean Femembering what yt learned may years ago, and hae rarely thought shout since, Gta sentences (1)-(4) make alt, in four columns, of the ital ‘hed morés which ae ()) nouns, (i) verb, (i) adjecties, and Go advebs: (1) New cars are very expensive nowadey (2) Tunderstand that even Dacula hates werewobves. (@)_Lhave wom more rounds of go tha you have hd hot dimer. {3 Mother Hustard went tothe cupboard, Long viny for food fonbe ber dos (©) Now tnt you ave ade thet, my why you afd the word as you di, Ths wil sguie some Kind of definition of what « ‘ou ave, am adjective ran adverb 23Pa ENGLISH ORAMMAR FOR TODAY fyou remember about traditional word chasse, or PARTS OF SPEECH as they ae called, your Its wil be something ike the following: ca, Dracus, werewobes, rounds, golf, diners, food and dog ate nouns, are understand, hates, won, ha went, loking and ge ate verbs; new, expensive and hora adjectives; ner, nowadays an snl ae ade, Je wer to exp your it, you may have ud friar defitons © ‘Armoun ia naming word: it eer to a thing peron, substance, (‘A veri doing word: it refers tn am aeton* (Gi) sAn adjective isa word which describes or qualifies 2 noun.” (is) ‘An adver 2 word which desrbes or qualifies other types of ‘words, such a vebs adjectives and adverbs" Tig a ety sat ein in ef mn i Sh deine stl Saupe pc ee Ss ettrg our gunnar bt es ate (y ‘ot ape te Shaya me ee oral nt cb es nam ut oct 1 ec Bo efoto aa Opa he lee Po ae me Thiet Gut ay edt door oars ‘Rie wen he weld se sting so tet rahe eo ar ina sro eee al gf chasm ance Ara sonra dens Ohta eae te ia ocean of hse pt mn a a aed one Nos Say win wn ln ste Socpon way to pov boa ont p elon eta ae ‘nina Noa te Soa te ew var srw eels a et Sure sand ce hoes ee on We Tee mon my eter Son anne Bec gy Be dean ae eat na ee feo, An wit Tho ova our tt ere Sie i eS tae Se a ond pode tara att hohe a etme pr opt hn Dennen ane f Basel hed Secchi py one eet Ne Daan nes er eT e Ra sel al t ‘Bang ka sh ree "a ‘Son hotse enticed fe ae et SENTENCES AND THEIR PARTS 2s 4 bout many ABSTRACT NOUNS wh ke rd, ated in ole ev ab'oc an aja reduereacion wee; nee! {Pease kines doerntdernc; ool te: abhernocky? Fe a crehron meaniog in defining word clases, The Soe cae, iy oben we aoe (many hae noted bet) Fa de oem ach Lew Cros Jabbersoaty we ant a ae mnmne words ven thogh te J not know rang: asi, an he sity toes hd gov and sinble inthe wate: ’Amimey were the Bororoves, ‘And the mone rath outgsabe know fo tne, hat fre and Borogve ae nous tha 2, Mende tet ata sy and mina edhe. eas we know? Cartan ot on atount of sing! Rat, Petey ak wor on thet ottoman ts pstion Bove NSS GeEIuT eas nie volar pra ein of ou) Set oe Si sie Dt om een 1 ot Chou ut) at wea 24 mee ence would mit he comps The a ony pasta seehloh ut ty tow the kind of ites a grata. San oft pad wh boak on Banat as © sage Ta show a sae sl ot pray pe Sion meaning, 13. Te fn Soman of pant ee Re Laattten tot oman delons ae fe and ae slo di To a si ya le eta ga wet anced etiam oe Ree re sate un, bn dg ma, We ie anon ht a nnn he at ie Tae of ris wd me cae ee ee an te cj wt a oe thy ac meg ‘oe a scene seach ne amt le canon ear Sa a tir ipo he, Say asin ot ad gi paws robs2% [BNGLISHGRANOLAR FOR TODAY type, hres cages docks nd penguins ae in meres dees ie! The mine cote of caters wit acy sige ees ‘Sum Jute chase casts oho tale fon ds ale “dy tan ors, 0 soe num atten? = othe and ome verb et wey ‘than others. The typical, or ope, hou a the wich eto pepe sia {5 te Ingen, nelly to manber smote the he ate his iden ian Te aot poms with te st os ‘ut ungae aswel, Stary, hey wean wae though th mast common ve fae enolase iat folios, then, esl fie when dee penal soto te words ach yp enrlyraetae e nae Ta ot weaous t's 2 wlio of he ey Sound mal aor, oul ee nin is concept of fue” ear apes nau cing bat sto to formal specs of ceftion. Fa anes pp oasis Dalin-sands peal vb hsp tne in bah aca Gh havea pul may (og ven, fhe whieh hve al 3. suman hr as We wh a ge a tte, Gina nt ede palo matenatal sen, bt Bas smh in common wt bloga yer ett ivlesoaaring Gitetaand bas fry wg Te ie ty af guns poste the docile pltypan Thin means ates nat siva Signy ce of eso i reenet about wha hte bet aias eta etn ee ‘Exercise 2a] ot pea 22. The hierarchy of units ‘The SENTENCE isthe largest unt of language that we shal be concerned ih ere sentence conponed of nar ut, CLAUSES, PASS GRAMMATICAL UNITS OF ENGLISH syMBOL, Sentence + Cause so B Word h For convenience in parg, we ge each grammatical category we ne trodue shorthand symbol, The symbols nd abbrevtons aed nts ‘book ae sted om pape 3, SENTENCES AND THEIR PARTS a “The wnits SENTENCE and WORD need tl introduction as they ae fuiy dearly repeonted in ove wsting system. In general we shall enti them acsording tothe usual convention: that ‘be denied by an ntl capital letter anda final fllstop (or question. ‘attr exclamation, and a word wil be delimited, for most pur pws, by = space (or punctuation mark ther than a hyphen oF apo pte) on en e 72S the ipl unio which sentences ae compo. A scotence may const of one or mare causes, For example: (5) tack Syrak wul eat 2 ft ‘This, standing on its owa, is a sntence. Bt (5) can also occur as part of larger une (©) Usok Spat cout et no fat), ahs wife could eat n ea, (5) Brey eld knows (tht Jack Spret could ext o fa Here (6) and (7) ar sentence, but the parts of them in quae rackets gnats are uns intermediate between clase and word. Th comin of nlve words, but these words are grouped ito four phases: (8) (By Uncle Olaf vas munching) (ls peach) (with lsh), 0 creas meat teres aaa ae aca me aaa ate aaa cermrmere as eens Se ate ‘Aclause consist of one or more phrases ‘Aphmse consist of one or more words Lower # Avo ; tant wo otc that we ee sg i’ 2d ow int Tella! wu wees that wit ofthe ight const ag ‘A sentence const of one or mare claies 1 put soe that thos comention a aot aves flow Iwan 1 Ie Wi ded we era? Hota a Hee Wh You a toa ee ee he al th daar wl cao 09 Srpunl'ns out €1, we sow sia a ree ate Sando eae ware me olay on, RESIST Soto desta ete inne wd8 ENGLISH ORAMBAR FOR TODAY of one or more of the units of the next lower rank, Soa seatenes cas ‘Sesto ony oe cane center lt Sr SENTENCES) se ‘only one word. Compare sentence (8) with (6) {(OtaN (munch) (peaches) (contented) The whole of hs etence ia sgl clases by the square ‘rackets and each word ao comnis «pat Gn toed aca For hat iatter, a wel ten an cont single wud: Shon sentence consining fone ane cosine Pras cos, ‘A ft lactis concept fren may sem ane but the foow- ing analog may belp fo cay Er nother human setety at ting, bt exting te cold op an ale of our any maa, court ping mouthf Amel my cont of one or more ne urea cour may soa of oor mre tan one Sling as tclping may const of one or moe than one moutful Sock sak ssl adaptable enough to azount for wile wrt of human stag ‘avon aa tom aserensnure tanga ich ony ase ee ‘ison heiingy oa re snack whe, Italy someone haste {0 et Smythe rank sae of gama scout for awe oops of ngage beheour.Obvouty, the rank of nt not eceay feet eof anos an, ees ens of oly for Words wheres he aun qarernces tC), wih of omer a, con smn seen werd 23° Grammatical notations For both daity and brevity, it i estentlto ave away of represent ing grammatical structure on paper. la fact, it is wslul to have two «ferent graphic notations: bracketing and se dingrems, 23.1 Bracketing Wiohave already usd a simple wet of BRACKETING conventions (©) Sentences ae marked with an tcp ter andl al (©) Cates are enclosed in square brackets: []. (o) Phrases are enciowed in ound brackets: (), (© Words ae separetd by spaces (6) IE we need to separate the grammatical components of words, we conse dash: SENTENCES AND THEIR PARTS » So in (@)-(L1) we have as complete patsng as can be managed at resent (©) (Our land-Iady) (keep) (a sttt—ed moot) (in er atti] (10) [(Uncle Oia) seage—iy) (vous) (isnt peach). (11 tetey) Coe plying) (Assnad (tome) (next wee] ‘Novice that ein They're playing (11) belongs with plying rather than with Tey, To se thi, we expand "eto are, whlch early belongs 0 the verb pase are playing. igrams {Tae bacetingy of ©)-(11) ae easy to use but they do mot ve ery ‘Sear visa petre ofthe elation between constituents. Por this, when ive ant fo, we can replace the brackets by a TREE DIAGRAM (32 Pipe 2.1, vewe2s : ® t a r4 Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo Wo WoWo Wo Wo fee eee] (Gucland—lady) (Keeps) (@ stuff—e moose) (inher ate) symbol Cl ete which we nodule ae he we as anus Tor rds de te, tur al os of he sae ak Gt ‘fon on fet od) ype these lov he Bach amie ne eps tn of wot for sel, SEERA cor te dupam mane Toe pn Our indy ont wo words te Ouran ens ‘The conventions of bracketing and diagramming sould be our sve and no our masters we shuld oe them only to show Whats pertinent for our purpose. For sxampl, ifs sentence contains a single clause it ‘soften unnecessary to show the dause lee, and its often unnecessary30 _ENGLISHGRAMBIAR FOR TODAY to label the words. The tre shown ln Figure 22, which may be called fn ABBREVIATED tre diagam, show some simplifications, Figure 22 Se sefct Uncle Olaf samgely devoured. is sth peach Wo We may een want o snp hag een furs, an pods an [UNLABELLED tree diagram (see Figure 2.3), ir Figure 23 Se ‘They “e plying Arenal at home next week ‘Thus we can we the notations lexbly,to show whatever information| ‘we consider important. But it aso important tobe abe odo com: plete parsing when necessary, and for this, we ned tobe abl Yo raw a FULLY LABELLED tee diagiam, suc as Figue 2.1, where every con stunt labaled. [Now try Exeris 2.) 24 Using tests in bracketing and drawing te dagrme we fav toot fr pari ‘cil ene a mo dar at we cata {athe pueture of sentence macly by pase Sserigi weneed ‘to investigate actively the relations between it 8 by using various GRAMMATICAL TESTS, eee 242 ei ong (11) we exo re nto, ad 0 made tear tht eae epante ve blaping tte a pleat SENTENCES AND THEIR ARTS 3 with They, We can sso expand a word by adding ater words 910 {how tha ihe word isacting aes phrase. For example, eachof the words fof Ge) canbe expanded ito a word group" (2) [ (Olaf) (munchea) (peaches) (contented) } (88) {conte Ota) (has munehed) (A peaches) (ery contetell)]- Such additions, although they ad something to the meaing, do not ‘hangs the relation bse the prs of the sentence. Hence theround ‘rackets in (8) correctly show (Ol), (munched), et, 8 phrases, ke the phrases of 8). 242. Substttion tests Sometimes, een though we canpot use an expansion text, by sbstitt- figs word sequence for a word We can se thatthe word actly behaving asa pre, For nstanc, in (01) we marked They ané Arsenal se pais: (it0) (They) ate paying) (Arsenal) (at home (next wee) [And to help show that ths analysis scorect, we can replace cach of| ‘hos constituents by a Mord group having the same Function, anda sar meaning (118) (Thee team are playing) (our team) (at home) (nent weak)! 243. Sobuaction tests ‘Tie opposte of an expansion test a subtraction test, i. omitting Tome part ofa construction, In Jabberwocky in 21.2, tone inthe {ly foves was secogised. at « coun, and this in pat was because {ation tells ws tht fore (athout the -s) would als be grammatical Equally (10), we marked the ed asa separate grammatieal sfx of ‘rou edad this partly jostied by the fact that the remaining ‘Sart of the word, devours el capable of standing alone a soparate word, 244. Movement tests {in (10), Unte Ole sragey devoured his sth peach we ete sary {aerate pr ther tana prt of pe sagt dvr, habs man becuse sorely can be moved ceewhore inthe case, + onthe we of he ple foowng am 3:21.94, mn 115, 9.17