Structure of English

Structure of English
Module No. 01
I. Course Code ENGM 101
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STUDENT
Name:
Student Number:
Program:
Section:
Home Address:
Email Address:
Contact Number:
PROFESSOR
Name: Edizon P. Dela Cruz
Academic Department: Department of Teacher Education
Consultation Schedule: Wednesday and Thursday, 5:30-8:30 PM
Email Address: epdela_cruz@ccc.edu.ph
Contact Number: 0906 317 4901
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I. Course Title STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH

II. Module Number 01
III. Module Title SYNTACTIC CATEGORIES
IV. Overview of the This module will emphasize the discussion on the syntactic
Module categories of the language focusing on the word classes or lexical
and grammatical categories, phrases, and clauses. In relation, this
module underscores the relevance of syntax as a discipline to
language teaching and learning, and its benefits to community and
society.
This also emphasizes the in-depth understanding on the different

features of each lexical and grammatical category, as well as the
functions of phrases and clauses. Furthermore, this module
highlights
their implications to language teaching and learning.
V. Module Outcomes At the end of this module, you are expected to:
 Demonstrate understanding of the features,
characteristics, and functions of the differet lexical and
grammatical categories
 Analyze English sentences into constituent phrases and
clauses
 Discuss the implications of syntactic structures to the teaching
of English grammar
VI. General Instructions
You must allot the necessary time to complete the lessons each
week. If you choose not to complete the lesson using the
schedule provided, you must understand that it is your full
responsibility to complete them by the last day of completion.
Time is of the essence.
The module is designed to assess student understanding of the

assigned lessons found within the associated content of the
midterm and final period of the course. The assessment part of
the module is composed of varied types of questions. You may
see true/false, traditional multiple choice, matching, multiple
answer, completion, and/or essay. Pay attention to the answer to
the assessment questions as you move through each lesson.
After each module you will be given a summative test. Your
responses to the assessment parts of the module will be checked
and recorded.
Because the assessment questions are available within the whole

completion period and because you can reference the answers to
the questions within the content modules, we will not release the
answers within modules. However, your professors are happy to
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discuss the assessments with you during their consultation time,

should you have any questions.
Good luck.
You may not work collaboratively. This is independent work.
Lesson 1. LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES
Category refers to a set of items with similar characteristics. Items of the same category
belong to the same unit since they usually have the same structural possibilities. One can
therefore refer to categories of verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc. and also to their behavior as a
group. For example, verbs act as predicators while the nouns often operate as head of the
nominal group in the structure of a clause. Every category also has sub-classes as for instance
in the cases of nouns being countable and uncountable (count and non-count nouns), proper
and abstract while verbs can be transitive, intransitive or linking.
According to Ndimele (1993), as cited by Kenesei (2018), in defining word classes three
major criteria are considered. They are the form of the word, the meaning of the word and
most importantly the function the word performs in a larger construction.
In this lesson, the categorization of English words into classes and subclasses is done to
prepare you for studying their behavior in larger constructions later.
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

 identify and explain the characteristics of the different open word classes;
 analyze the functions of these classes; and,
 appreciate the relevance of open word classes to the teaching and learning of
English language.
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Getting Started
Analyze and classify the words listed below. Use the matrix provided.
Park Seo Joon creativity either...or

in, on Hyun Bin about
text (in text message) CCC his, my, our
when, if, whose (is) singing they
(to) love Ian Pangilinan first
Name Act Modify Connect Relate
Discussion
Open Class Words
Nouns. One of the most important functions of language is to give names to persons,
things, places, groups, qualities, ideas, and concepts that we come across daily. Nouns
perform this function in different dimensions. We have Vlad, Karl, bird, heart, Calamba,
Laguna, goodness, progress, society, equality, Buhayani Festival, etc. The different types of
nouns can be discussed in pairs:
Proper versus Common Nouns
A proper noun names particular persons (Amy, John), places (La Paz,
California), days of the week (Monday, Tuesday), months of the year (January,
February), institution (National Open University, World Bank), geographical features
(River Niger, Sierra Madre), and languages (English, French, Cebuano). All proper
nouns begin with capital letters when they are written.
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Common Nouns on the other hand name persons or things that share class
features or essential general characteristics. These include dog, stone, table, boy,
teacher, farmer, etc.
Common nouns can form a unit or a class that needs to be referred to as a
complete whole. They refer to a group of people, things etc. This class is called
Collective Nouns. Examples are: a crowd of people, a fleet of ships, a battalion of
soldiers, a bevy of ladies, a troupe of dancers, a crew of sailors, a congregation
of worshippers, a team of players, a host of angels, a clutch of eggs.
Abstract versus Concrete Nouns
Abstract Nouns name qualities, states, actions, conditions, emotions which can
neither be touched nor seen. Concrete Nouns name objects and substances that exist
in the physical world of things.
Abstract Concrete
faith lock
joy table
goodness stone
confidence bottle
truth key
favour book
sweetness fan
Count versus Non-Count Nouns
Count or Countable nouns refer to items that are separable into identifiable or
numerable units while Non-Count or Uncountable nouns are mass nouns which cannot
be expressed in terms of singular and plural. Quirk and Greenbaum (1980), as cited by
Thorne (2008), state that there is a considerable degree of overlap between count and
non-count words as seen in difficulty/difficulties, experience/experiences, talk/talks, etc.
This overlap is explainable in terms of particularization in the count usage and
generalization in the non-count usage.
As a guide, count nouns take the articles ‘a’ and ‘an’ in their singular forms and
are generally classified into singular and plural forms. Examples of count and non-
count nouns:
Count Non-Count
(Singular Plural) --
box boxes oil
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boy boys water

ox oxen air
child children sand
passer-by passers-by livestock
datum data light
city cities luggage
man men imagery
table tables equipment
house houses accommodation
Verbs. The verb is a very important word class in any language. It is the word which says
what is happening in the sentence. It can express the action performed by the subject (e.g.
eat, say), the state that the subject is in (is, are, BE) and possession (e.g. has, have). It can
stand alone and still form a sentence that makes sense as in ‘Sing’. It can also combine with
the subject alone as in They Sing and Birds fly. Verbs are best understood in terms of
formations and forms, tense and aspect, voice, and mood.
Verbs are traditionally known as doing words, but this does not cover all their possible
meanings. A more accurate definition would be that verbs can express actions and states.
Stative verbs express states of being or pro cesses in which there is no obvious action; they
are not often used as commands and do not usually occur after the verb to be with an -ing
ending. Dynamic verbs express a wide range of actions which may be physical, like jump;
mental, like think; or perceptual, like see. They can be used as commands and occur after the
verb to be with an -ing ending.
Main Verbs and Auxiliaries
Whenever a verb functions alone, it can be said to be the main verb. On the
other hand, the auxiliary verb is a helping verb which indicates tense or mood of the
main verb. The main verb is always a finite verb, and it belongs to the open class.
Examples of the main verb are:
- Bernie sings well.

- Tara dances gracefully.
The auxiliary verbs comprise the primary auxiliary verbs (do, have, and BE) and
the modal auxiliary verbs (can/could, shall/should, may/might, must, ought to, used to,
need, dare).
The auxiliary verbs belong to the closed class since they are fixed in number
and also are not subject to any form of derivation or inflection. They are however used
informally in contracted forms:
It is - it’s could not - couldn’t

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I am - I’m ought not - oughtn’t

I will - I’ll need not - needn’t
will not - won’t is not - isn’t
shall not - shan’t are not - aren’t
would not - wouldn’t am not - ain’t
The auxiliary verb also has the following functions:
1. It is used in Yes-No questions.

- Will you come tomorrow?
- Can you see him?
2. It is used in negative constructions.

- She does not misbehave.
- They were not speaking at the meeting.
3. It is used to avoid unnecessary repetition.

- You spoke to him, did you?
- You haven’t seen him, have you?
4. It is used for emphasis or determination.

- She does behave well.
- You must read today.
Tense
One of the most important functions of the verb is the expression of tense or time
reference. Tense is the correspondence between the form of the verb and our
concept of time. Tense indicates the time of occurrence or completion of an action.
Since time is expressed in terms of ‘before the moment of speaking’ (past), the
moment of speaking (present) and after the moment of speaking (future); and
considering that there are two forms of words to express this time as, for instance,
eat and ate, talk and talked, some linguists identify only two tenses in English: past
and non-past. From the viewpoint of time reference three types are usually
recognized -present, past, and future. Examine the following:
PRESENT PAST FUTURE
I write I wrote I shall write

Simple He writes He wrote He shall write
They write They wrote They shall write
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I am writing I was writing I shall be writing

Continuous He is writing He was writing He will be writing
They are writing They were writing They will be writing
I am writing I have written I shall be writing
He has been writing He had been writing He will have been writing
They have been writing They had been writing They will have been writing
I have written I had written I shall have written

Perfective He has written He had written He will have written
They have written They had written They will have written
Active and Passive Voice
When a verb is in the active voice, the subject is the actor of the verb. The
subject performs the action of the verb directly. For example:
- Type kicked the ball.
- The congregation praised God.
- The girl killed the rat.
For some reasons, the position of the subject and the object or complement
in the sentence may be reversed with the emphasis removed from the one who
performs the action to the action itself with the object taking the place of the subject
and appearing to be the doer of the action (i.e. passive voice).
- The ball was kicked by Type (Okon still the performer)

- God was praised by (someone/people who performed the action)
The passive voice is used when the speaker or writer wants to direct more
attention to the action performed than on who performed the action as in
- In March, the land is cultivated.

- In April, yams are planted.
The passive is therefore a useful aspect of literary or expository style. When the
active voice is used in everyday speech or writing, the description or narration is more
lively and real.
Transitive and Intransitive Verb
Transitive verbs require objects or complements to make full meaning in a

sentence. Consider the following verbs, buy, kill, sing, give. They cannot convey full
meaning unless there are completer elements added to them:
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- They buy clothes monthly.

- Choristers sing songs of praise.
- We give alms to the poor.
Intransitive verbs denote actions that stop with the doer or subject. There is no
need for a receiver of the action.
- Men laugh.
- Children sleep often.
- The bell rang.
Adjectives. Things, persons, entities need to be distinguished, differentiated, limited,

specified, or described so as to aid our understanding. We ask the questions: What kind?
Which one? How many? For example, we can say a tall man, this orange or four goats. The words
that precede the nouns and also modify or amplify their meaning are called adjectives. Generally,
adjectives state the attributes or characteristics of nominals (nouns, pronouns, and noun
phrases). Adjectives as modifiers make language lively as they help us to
give precise pictures of what we are referring to.
Attributive and Predicative Adjectives
Syntactically, adjectives can occur before the nominal they describe or modify.
These are attributive ones.
- The beautiful girl is here.

- The clean clothes were ironed.
Some adjectives occur in the predicate part of the sentence following a linking
verb to describe a nominal in the subject part of the sentence. These are predicative
adjectives.
- The woman is beautiful.

- The boy is courageous.
According to Ndimele (1993), as cited by Kenesei (2018), some adjectives

can function both attributively and predicatively.
- The hungry man is here.

- This man is hungry.
- The genuine reason is offered.
- The reason is genuine.
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Domains of Adjectives
 Colour : red, blue, yellowish, forest green, sky-blue

 Shape : oval, triangular, spherical, awkward, round
 Age : new, old, young, aged, archaic, weary
 Height : tall, short, high, low, sky-high
 Weight : light, heavy, in units (kilograms)
 Interrogation: which book? whose hand?
 Number : first, second, one, three
 Demonstration : this, that, these, those
 Composition : sandy, wooden, earthen, watery
Order of Adjectives
Adjectives can occur in a stretch indicating (a) quality, (b) temperature,

(c) size, (d) shape (e), colour (f) participials, (g) nationality, (h) nominal adjective
and the headword. This order a-h is only necessary if all the items are present
otherwise only those which occur are indicated in constructions as in:
- A very beautiful rich tall black Nigerian woman

- A rich intelligent bare-footed Asian traveller
The order of occurrence of adjectives can easily be determined through

a consideration of aspects which strike the observer immediately, followed by
those which are comparatively less easy to notice. This position is acceptable
from the semantic perspective where meaning is uppermost in the mind of the
user.
Adverbs. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, just as adjectives
modify nouns and nominals. Adverbs answer the questions: Where? When? How? and Why?
They indicate place, time, manner, and degree.
The fact that adverbs modify adjectives and other adverbs sometimes sound difficult to
learners of English, who are made to believe that adverbs only specify the mode of action of
verbs. The difficulty is strengthened by the obvious reality that adverbs always cluster around
verbs. In these examples, the issues are better appreciated:
- Vlad dances well.

- Karl dances extremely well.
- Archibong is really tall.
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In the first example, the adverb of manner “well” modifies the verb ‘dances’. In the second
illustration, ‘extremely’, an adverb of degree modifies “well” while in the third example, the
adjective ‘tall” is modified by the adverb “really”. There are many other potential formations
like these in English.
Position of Adverbs
Adverbs can occur in a sentence initially, medially, and finally. One quality of
adverbials of manner is that they can be shifted from one position to another without
affecting the grammaticality of the sentence. This can be illustrated thus:
- Certainly, I know him.

- I certainly know him.
- I know him certainly.
Even though all the above positions (of the adverb) are known to occur in
English utterances it would appear that the one that seems particularly true to the
nature of adverbs is the medial position.
Classes of Adverbs
 Interrogative Adverbs are often used at the beginning of a sentence to ask a

question.
- When did you return?
- How do I put the items together?
- Where did you keep my book?
 Adverbs of Degree answer the question: ‘to what extent’? They mostly modify
adjectives and other adverbs, rarely verbs.
- The man is too slow.
- He walks very fast.
 Adverbs of Place indicate the location of actions. Some of these adverbs resemble
nouns by nature but their functions are essentially adverbial. They are sometimes
called nouns used as adverbs.
- I am coming home.
- He is going there.
 Adverbs of Time denote the interval of occurrence of actions.

- We trekked all day.
- Let us meet tomorrow.
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Closed Class Words
Preposition. The root of this word ‘position’ strongly indicates the meaning and primary
function of the preposition. It is used to indicate the positional relationship between words in a
construction.
Prepositions are ‘hooks’ for making modifiers of nouns and pronouns. A
preposition is always accompanied by its object or complement (a noun or a pronoun)
which it ‘hooks’ to some other parts of a sentence.
Examine these sentences:

- They live in a bungalow near the village.
- They live in a bungalow in the village.
- They live in a bungalow beyond the village.
The underlined words connect the nouns ‘bungalow’ and ‘village’ to other parts of the
sentence and also express different relationships between them. The sentences are
essentially the same in all other respects except in the difference in meaning attributable to
the different prepositions in use. Therefore, as against the common consideration that
prepositions merely link words in a sentence, they actually in addition influence the meaning
of the sentence.
Functions of Prepositions
 relationship in space
- The cat is near the ball.
- This is home away from home.
 location
- The house is beside the hill.
- The knife is in the kitchen.
 direction
- He walked along the street.
- The water is flowing downward.
 duration of a motion
- The programme is on.
- I will sleep at dawn.
 sequence
- A comes before B.
- Call gentlemen after ladies.
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 position (support or opposition)

- I will stand by you.
- I am against him.
 purpose or intention
- This money is for food.
- Everyone needs someone to lean on.
Special Usage of Prepositions
1. We travel by sea, land or air.
2. a. I will see you at 8 o’clock (point of time)

b. I will see you at night.
c. I will see you on June 12 (specific day)
d. I will see you in December (not specific)
e. The meeting will commence at 2‘Oclock (Exactly)
f. The meeting will commence by 2’Oclock (at or before)
3. I have known him for two years (length of time)
4. Divide this orange between Simon and Ella (two)

Divide this orange among Simon, Ella and Tonyo
(three)
5. Stay beside me (near)

Besides, I need him (also, in addition to your plan)
6. We met on the train, bus, boat or plane.
7. I will see you with regard to the journey.
8. I agree with you on the plan.

I agree to for traveling tomorrow.
9. Let’s see about 3.00 p.m. (approximately)
Pronouns. Pronouns belong to the closed class or system of words because like the
prepositions, they are fixed in number. The major function of the pronoun is to substitute
nominals (nouns and noun phrases) in order to avoid monotonous repetition such as this:
- Anya told Ryan’s guest that Ryan was away and that Ryan would return soon.
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This is better written as:
- Anya told Ryan’s guest that he was away and that he would return soon.
Note that the pronoun can only substitute or replace a noun that has already been
mentioned in a construction. This noun is called an antecedent of the pronoun.
Examine the following:
The girls are happy; they are dancing.

Many students do not read; they play around.
Types of Pronouns
a) Personal Pronouns have persons, number, gender and case which constitute
the grammatical categories of pronouns. In terms of persons, there are the first, second
and third persons which occur in singular and plural forms, function as subjects and
objects distinctively and indicate possession in different forms. This table illustrates the
grammatical categories of pronouns:
Subject Object Possessive

form
1st person (singular) I me mine
1st person (plural) we us ours
2ndperson (sing/plu.) you you yours
3rd person singular he, she, it him, her, it his, hers, its
3rd person plural they them theirs
Of these, the most troublesome is the second person which is the same in the
singular and plural forms as well as the subject and object cases. It does not also show
gender. This should be particularly noted.
b) Relative Pronouns feature in (relative or adjectival clauses). They include

who, what, which, whom, whose, that, whoever, whichever. Relative pronouns show
contrasts. Usually, ‘who’ and ‘whom’ refer to persons while ‘which’, ‘what’ and that
refer to things.
c) Interrogative Pronouns are used in asking questions in the subjective,

objective, or genitive cases.
who are you?

which is this?
whose is that?
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d) Reflexive Pronouns refer to self or selves. They exist in compound forms and
occur in first, second and third persons with appropriate number as follows:
Person Singular Plural

1st person myself ourselves
2nd person yourself yourselves
3rd person himself themselves
herself
itself
Reflexive pronouns sometimes perform emphatic function.
- He himself knows the truth.

- I myself cannot imagine that.
e) Indefinite Pronouns refer to persons / things in general. They do not really

specify a person or a thing. They include: each, both, all, everyone, everything,
anybody, somebody, someone, somewhere, anything, any, nothing, nobody, nowhere,
none, little, few, one, etc.
f) Reciprocal Pronouns express relationship between two or more persons or

entities. They are:
each other - (for two) one another - (for more than two)
- Ina and Steff love each other

- Ina, Steff and Selphy love one another.
g) Demonstrative Pronouns point at entities. They should not be mistaken for

adjectives:
- This/that is mine. (pronoun, singular)

- This/that book is mine. (adjective qualifying book)
- These/those are mine. (pronoun, plural)
- These/those books are mine. (adjective qualifying books)
Conjunctions. Conjunctions specifically connect or join grammatical patterns (words,

groups, clauses, and sentences). Three types of conjunctions are operational within the closed
class. These are subordinators, coordinators, and the correlatives.
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a) Subordinators join elements of unequal weight. This means that one pattern which
is joined to the other is subordinate to it. They include: after, if, since, that, though, until, till,
yet, while, etc.
b) Coordinators join elements of equal rank. There are three in English, namely: and,
but, or.
- Grace sings and dances well

- Ara sings well but dances awkwardly.
- Buy the dress or keep back the money.
c) Correlatives occur in pairs. They usually have intervening words or phrases between
them. They include: either … or, neither nor, only … but also, both … and, etc.
Functions of Conjunctions
The multiplicity of the functions of conjunctions can easily lead to confusion

between them and prepositions or adverbs. The principle is to find out the function of
each word before attributing it to any part of speech.
The following are groups of subordinating conjunctions according to their
functions:
- Cause : because, in as much as, since;
- Purpose : that, so that, in order that, lest;
- Comparison : than, as, as if, as well as;
- Condition : if, unless, whether, in case;
- Result : that, so that;
- Time : after, before, since, when, while;
- Concession : although, though;
- Place : where;
- Manner : how, as though;
- Degree : as far as, as much as.
Application
Identify the lexical and grammatical categories of the underlined words in the selection. Write
your answers in the table provided below.
1. 11.
2. 12.
3. 13.
4. 14.
5. 15.
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6. 16.
7. 17.
8. 18.
9. 19.
10. 20.
Wet and Gay

Danny Maramba
A father, discovering (1) his son to be a gay, pulled him (2) by hair and dragged him (3)
beside a drum (4) filled with water. Thereafter, he dunked his (5) son’s head in the water for
about ten seconds and pulled it back, asking him (6) furiously: “Babae ka ba o lalaki?” The
son, (7) gasping for breath, shot back: “Babae!”
The father turned (8) livid and (9) once again dunked his son’s head in the water for a good
(10) 20 seconds before pulling it back. In a (11) louder tone, he demanded: “Babae ka ba
o lalaki…sagot!”…”Babae!” came the weak answer, as the gay son coughed out some
water.
Thereby, the father dunked his son’s head in the water again, (12) this time keeping it
(13) there (14) until he sensed his son was nearly (15) choking from the water he (16) drank.
He pulled his son’s head out of the drum and, on top of his voice, (17) threatened: “Babae k
aba o lalaki?”
The poor kid, (18) already (19) blue in the face answered, (20) “Sirena.”
Summary of the Lesson
1. The world’s languages have a wide variety of word classes that reflect the diversity of
meanings and relations that people express in language. They are characterized by
regular grammatical properties that allow them to act as the building blocks for
phrases, sentences, and other utterances. Thus, one must examine these grammatical
properties, rather than meanings, to determine the classification of words.
2. Each language must be examined independently to determine which word classes
it has, and each class must be indentified based on the shared morphological and
syntactic properties of the words in the class.
Assessment
Read each item carefully, then choose the letter of the correct answer.
1. In the sentence “My aunt tenderly mothers her youngest son,” the word mothers is .
A. a noun B. an adjective C. a possessive D. a verb
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2. Which of the following sentences does not have a linking verb?

A. The tall building appears haunted.
B. The principal is busy observing classes.
C. The ugly bud becomes a beautiful flower after two days.
D. The class are working on their science project.
3. One of the most powerful countries which existed several years back is Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics. What article is missing?
A. a B. an C. the D. none
4. In the sentence, “The water supplier delivers on Tuesdays and Fridays,” the verb is a
verb.
A. transitive B. intransitive C. linking D. two-word
5. Which of these is a passive sentence?

A. The box contains a pair of shoes. C. He has bought a new house by the lake.
B. Bob got excused for his first offense. D. The choir sang an early folk tune.
6. Which of the following is properly sequenced?

A. an old ugly gray wooden statue
B. a wooden old ugly gray statue
C. an ugly old gray wooden statue
D. a gray wooden old ugly statue
7. Father drove the car into the garage beside our house with its headlights on. The
reference of the underlined word is .
A. headlights B. car C. garage D. house
8. In the sentence, “The red roses given as a birthday gift by my best friend realy smell sweet,”
which adjective is predicative?
A. red B. birthday C. best D. sweet
9. Which of the following sentences should have the article a on the blank?
A. The artist I talked in the art fair is Michelangelo.
B. Philippines has a lot of wonderful tourist destinations.
C. Obama Wins by Landslide
D. sampaguita lei is usually given to a guest of honor.
10. Which of these is an active sentence?

A. The dishes have been washed. C. The boy scouts raised the flag.
B. Much corn is raised in the Ilocos Region. D. The drums are played at 7:45 in the evening.
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11. Which of the following does not function as a pronoun?

A. we B. my C. me D. I
12. My father fixed the doghouse himself. The underlined word is a/n pronoun.
A. reciprocal B. reflexive C. intensive D. interrogative
13. In the sentence, “Before Karen came to the university, she had served the DepEd for ten
years,” the underlined verb phrase exemplifies tense-aspect combination.
A. simple past B. past perfect C. past progressive D. past perfect progressive
14. The awardee that the committee chose comes from a poor family. The underlined word
functions as .
A. a sentence marker B. object of the verb
B. subject of the clause D. a subordinating conjunction
15. Which sentence has a ditransitive verb?

A. He looked at the mountain with binoculars. C. Mother made dresses for my doll.
B. We were happily chatting under the tree. D. She put a rocking chair on the lawn.
Enrichment Activity
Write a reflective essay that discusses the implications of lexical and grammatical categories
to the teaching and learning of English language, as well as the benefits to one’s
communicative competence.
Scoring Criteria:
• Content and Organization - 40 pts.

• Grammar and Mechanics - 30 pts.
• Choice of Words/Language Usage - 20 pts.
• Reader’s Rapport - 10 pts.
100
pts.
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Lesson 2. PHRASES AND CLAUSES
A group refers to a set of more than one word. It can function as any part of speech or
sentence element. The group is also called a phrase. For example, the verb ‘dance’ is a single
word verb but the groups “is dancing, has danced, would have danced” are verb phrases.
Similarly, there are noun phrases, prepositional phrases, adjectival phrases when more than
one word is involved. But except for a verb phrase, any group of words that has no subject
and no finite (main) verb is called a phrase.
Phrases are called by the classes of words to which they belong. They are also called
by the word class to which the most important word in the phrase belongs.
Clauses, on the other hand, are groups of words which can modify other structures.
They contain finite verbs, and they also have subjects and predicates. They can function like
nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and sentence elements. A clause is named according to its
function. In the following examples clauses and their functions are identified.
Lesson Objectives

 discuss the structure and types of phrases and clauses;
 analyze sentences into constituent phrases and clauses; and,
 appreciate the relevance of these group structures to the teaching and learning of
English language.
Getting Started
What did you know about phrases and clauses? Accomplish the Venn diagram below.
Clause
Phrase
22
Discussion
Kinds of Phrases
Noun Phrase. This contains a noun a modifier and sometimes a qualifier. These
together constitute the nominal group. At other times, a noun phrase contains nouns joined by a
conjunction. The following are examples of noun phrases:
Vlad and Karl

The professors of the Department of
English My elder sister and her friends
From the three examples above it can be seen that some noun phrases have modifiers
while some do not have modifiers. The noun phrase can serve as a substitute for a noun and
perform the functions often performed by nouns.
Prepositional Phrase. This consists of the preposition and its object. Sometimes a
noun which serves as the object of the preposition has modifiers, but the important words are
the preposition and the object. Study the following examples:
1. She strolled round the building.

(Preposition) (Object)
2. The girl in the black lace is a law

student. (Preposition) (Object)
In sentence No.1 for instance the preposition is round, the object is the building while
the prepositional phrase is round the building.
A prepositional phrase usually functions as an adjective or an adverb. Since adjectives
and adverbs modify, the prepositional phrase is also a modifier.
Adjectival Phrase. It is a prepositional phrase that modifies a noun or pronoun. It often

functions as an adjective. The following examples contain adjectival phrases.
3. The man at the gate opened the door for me.

4. They took the road near the market.
In No. 3, the prepositional phrase at the gate modifies the noun gate while the
prepositional phrase near the market modifies the noun road in No.4. An adjectival phrase,
also called adjective phrase, may follow the noun it describes, or it may be used as a
predicate adjective after a linking verb as in the following examples:
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5. She wore a wrapper with blue beads.

6. The injured girl was in a coma.
7. He drove in a cream-colored car.
8. The woman was in a terrible rage.
Notice that in the above examples the prepositional phrases in Nos.5 and 7 follow
linking verbs and therefore function as predicate adjectives while the ones in Nos. 4 and 6
follow the nouns which they describe.
Adverbial Phrase. This is also a prepositional phrase which performs the functions of
an adverb: modifying a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Like the adverb, the adverbial
phrase answers the questions when? where, how? and to what extent? Adverbial phrases
express additional ideas about the verb such as time, place, manner, and degree as in the
following examples:
9. I shall come in the evening (time).

10. The children played in the field (place).
11. Write your name in capital letters (manner)
12. He withdrew from school because of financial problems (reason).
In No. 9, the adverbial phrase modifies the verb shall come. It gives information about
the time that I will come. In No. 10, the adverbial phrase modifies the verb played saying
where the children played while the adverbial phrases in Nos11 and 12 modify the verbs write
and withdraw, respectively. In No. 11, the adverbial phrase gives information about how or in
what manner the name is to be written and in No. 12, the adverbial phrase gives the reason
why he withdrew from school.
Adverbial phrases which modify adjectives and adverbs are not always so easy to
identify. As a guide, the adverbial phrase that modifies an adjective often follows that
adjective as in the following examples.
The woman looked frightened of the man.

She was therefore ready at any time.
Note also that a preposition is not always a single word as in the
following. I packed the car in front of our house.

The professor resigned on account of his political appointment.
Types of Clauses
A clause, as already explained, is a group of words which has a subject and a

predicate. When the group can stand by itself and express a complete thought it is called an
24
independent or main clause. On the other hand, when the group of words has a subject and
a predicate but cannot stand on its own it is called a dependent or subordinate or bound
clause.
An independent clause is a simple sentence when it stands alone. For instance the
following sentence is made up of two independent clauses joined by ‘and’:
The referee blew the whistle and the football match began.
Each clause can be written as a sentence and it will express a complete thought as in
the examples below:
a. The referee blew the whistle.

b. The football match began.
Subordinate Clause. Three types of subordinate clauses are often identified in

English. These are Adjectival Clauses, Adverbial Clauses and Noun Clauses. Each of these
clauses can be used as a part of speech and it performs the functions of an adjective, an
adverb or a noun as the case may be. Note that phrases can also perform the functions of
nouns, adverbs and adjectives. In the following examples, the italicised groups of words function
as parts of speech and are named after the word class or part of speech whose function they
perform.
The man whose daughter won the essay competition is my uncle.

(Adjectival clause modifying the noun ‘man’)
I believe that the girl is honest.

(Noun clause – subject complement)
Before the doctor arrived, the man had died.

(Adverbial clause (of time) modifying the verb ‘had died’)
Adjectival Clause. This is a subordinate clause that functions as an

adjective. That means that it is used to describe a noun or pronoun. An adjectival
clause is usually introduced by a relative pronoun. A relative pronoun is a pronoun
that joins an adjectival clause to some word in the independent or main clause. The
word to which it joins the clause is the ‘antecedent’ of the relative clause. The
pronouns often used in this way are who, whom, which and that. “Who” and “whom”
are often used to refer to people while which refers to things. The pronoun “that” is
however sometimes used to refer to both people and things although it should refer
to things.
The following sentences contain relative clauses introduced by relative

pronouns:
25
a) Chika has brought the fruits that you

ordered. (Adjectival clause introduced by
‘that’)
b) I like the food which my mother gave me.

(Adjectival clause introduced by ‘which’)
c) Children who talk early are usually

intelligent. (Adjectival clause introduced by
‘who’)
d) This is the man whom you spoke to me

about. (Adjectival clause introduced by ‘whom’)
In the first example, the subordinate clause is italicised. It is an adjectival clause

which modifies the noun ‘fruits.’ This clause is introduced by the relative pronoun “that.”
The antecedent of the relative pronoun “that” is ‘fruits.’
In formal constructions, “whom” is used after prepositions.
a. To whom did you give the book?

b. The man to whom I gave the book is in the car.
Sometimes an adjectival clause is introduced by the word “whose,” the

possessive form of the pronoun “who.” In such cases, “whose” modifies the noun which
follows it. When used in this way in an adjectival clause, it is referred to as a relative
adjective. The word ‘relative’ suggests that whose refers to its antecedent in the main
clause. In the following example the word “whose” is a relative adjective modifying the
noun ‘woman’ in the main clause.
This is the woman whose baby was stolen.

The relative adjective also connects the subordinate clause to woman.
Adjectival clauses are sometimes introduced by the relative adverbs, where,

and why as in the following examples:
I found the house where my sister lives.

(Adjectival clause modifying ‘house’)
The test was fixed at a time when we were all free.

(Adjectival Clause modifying the noun, ‘time’).
He gave the reason why he resigned his appointment.

(Adjectival clause modifying the noun, ‘reason’).
26
Note that adverbs modify verbs and other adverbs. The difference between a
relative adverb and a simple adverb is that the relative adverb is found in an adjective
clause, and it refers to its antecedent in the main clause.
Adverbial Clause. This is a group of words with a subject and a predicate

which functions as an adverb. Adverbs tell how, when, where, to what extent, for what
reason etc. an action is performed. An adverbial clause answers the same questions
and also expresses several other ideas which the simple adverb does not express. An
adverbial clause is usually introduced by a subordinate conjunction. The connecting
word is called a subordinate conjunction because the idea expressed by the clause is
subordinate to the main idea in the sentence. The subordinate clause also shows the
relation between the subordinate clause and the word in the main clause which the
subordinate clause modifies.
Adverbial clauses express a number of different ideas. The following are ten of
the important ideas, often, expressed by adverbial clauses: time, manner, place,
degree, purpose, result, condition, comparison, concession, and reason. The following
subordinate conjunctions are commonly used in adverbial clauses of various types:
(a) Time: after, before, when, whenever, until, since, while, as soon
as: Before the doctor arrived, the patient had died.
(b) Place: where, wherever;

I parked the car where it could be seen by the security men.
(c) Manner: as, as if, as though:

The girl cried as if her heart would break.
(d) Degree: that, as … as, not so … as, than;

Irma is not as beautiful as her sister (is beautiful).
(e) Comparison: as, than, so … as, as … as

The bus arrived earlier than it usually does.
(f) Purpose: that, so that, in order that.

Etim worked very hard so that he might meet the deadline.
(g) Condition: If, provided, provided that,

unless; I shall go home early if I finish my
assignment.
(h) Result: that, so that

The food was so delicious that I asked for another plate.
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(i) Concession: although, though, even if

Although she was ill, she travelled to Abuja last week.
(j) Reason: as, because, since;

The students bought the school journal because they were compelled to do so.
The adverbial clause is often preceded by the main clause. Sometimes, an

adverbial clause is placed at the beginning of a sentence for emphasis. When that
happens, it is usually separated from the main clause with a comma.
Noun Clause. Unlike adjectival and adverbial clauses, noun clauses are not
modifiers. They perform the same function as nouns. Like nouns, the noun clause
performs any of the following functions:
i)Subject of the Sentence

A noun clause like a noun often functions as the subject of a sentence as
in the following examples.
What the Chairman proposed was not feasible (Noun Clause – subject)
Where we could rest for the night was our problem (Noun Clause – subject)
That you are my sister is not debatable. (Noun Clause – subject)
Notice that the noun clauses in the above sentences are introduced by
what, where, how and that. These same words also introduce adjectival or
adverbial clauses. The way to determine that the clause one is dealing with is a
noun clause is to ensure that it performs the functions of a noun.
ii) Direct Object of the Sentence

A noun clause frequently serves as the direct object of the verb. A noun
clause used as the object completes the verb and in most cases answers the
question what? asked after the verb, as in the following examples:
I believe (what) that you will be promoted.

(Noun Clause – Direct object).
We knew (what) what to do in an

emergency. (Noun phrase – Direct object).
iii) Predicate Noun/Subject Complement

After a linking verb, a noun clause may be used as a predicate noun or
subject complement NOT as an object as in the following:
28
The rumour was that he had died.

(Noun Clause – means the same as rumour)
This is what you vowed to do.

(Noun Clause – means the same as this)
iv) Object of a preposition

A noun clause is sometimes used as the object of a preposition as in the
following examples:
Give the message to whoever is available.

(Noun clause; object of the preposition ‘to’)
I did not agree with what the doctor said.

(Object of the preposition ‘with’)
v)An Appositive
A noun clause is also often used in apposition with another noun, that is,
it is placed near another noun to explain or identify it in some way. We often
speak of a person and then add something to explain who he is or identify him in
some way:
Mike, who is our driver, is very careful.

We called on Dr. Bella Black, the one who is a feminist critic.
Manila, which is the Capital of the Philippines, is located in the North.
A noun clause is often used in apposition to a word or group of words. It

usually explains an idea, fact, belief, report, rumour etc. Noun Clauses in
apposition are not set off by commas as in the following examples.
The rumour that she had an accident spread rapidly.

(Noun Clause in apposition with ‘rumour’).
The fact that she passed her examination made her parents proud of her.
(Noun Clause, in apposition with (‘fact’).
Additionally, an appositive noun clause with that differs from a relative

clause because that is not an element in the clause structure (subject, object
etc) as it must be in a relative clause.
29
Noun Clauses and the Introductory ‘It’
Sometimes a sentence begins with an introductory word (for instance ‘it’).

It should be noted that in such sentences, the introductory word is not the real
subject of the sentence. The real subject usually appears later. In such
sentences, the real subject is usually a noun clause as in the following
examples:
It is evident that you are not the owner.

(Noun clause – subject)
The sentence can be rewritten as follows:
That you are not the owner is
evident.
In such a sentence as the above, the word ‘it’ simply fills the place
normally occupied by the subject. It is an expletive. Sentences that begin with
an expletive or ‘filling in’ word are usually easy to recognise because they follow
the same pattern.
It is important that you leave at once.

(Expletive) (Noun clause – subject)
(It) That you go home at once is important.

(transposed order)
Words that introduce Noun Clauses
A noun clause is often introduced by a subordinate conjunction. The

following conjunctions are the ones normally used to introduce noun clauses:
that, whether and sometimes whether … or. The main function of the
subordinate conjunction is to join the noun clause to the main clause as in the
following examples:
I wonder whether he will recognise me.

Orion knew that he would be punished.
Other words often used to introduce noun clauses include the relative
pronouns; who, what, whatever, whoever as well as the adverbs how, when,
why and where.
30
Application
In the text below from “Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden, pick out and identify all the phrases
and clauses.
I ran back from Miyagawa-cho and was relieved to find the

okiya as quiet as I’d left it. I crept inside and knelt in the
dim light of the entrance hall, dabbing the sweat from my
forehead and neck with the sleeve of my robe and trying to
catch my breath. I was just beginning to settle down, now
that I’d succeeded in not getting caught. But then I looked at
the door to the maid’s room and saw that it stood open a bit,
just wide enough to reach an arm through, and I felt myself
go cold. No one ever left it that way. Except in hot weather
it was usually closed all the way. Now as I watched it, I felt
certain I heard a rustling sound from within. I hoped it was a
rat; because if it wasn’t a rat, it was Hatsumomo and her
boyfriend again. I began to wish I hadn’t gone to Miyagawa-
cho. I wished it so hard that if such a thing had been
possible, I think time itself would have begun to run
backward just from the force of all my wishing.
Phrase Type/Kind Clause Type/Kind

31
1. A clause is a group of words with a subject and a predicate which can modify other
structures and also function as a part of speech.
2. When a clause can stand by itself, it is called a main or independent clause.
3. When a clause depends on another part of the sentence, it is called a dependent or
subordinate clause.
4. Three types of subordinate clauses are often identified: the adjectival, the adverbial
and the noun clause.
5. Groups are also referred to as phrases. A group or phrase refers to a set of more
than one word which can function as a part of speech or word class.
6. Phrases are called by the classes of words to which they belong.
7. They are also called by the word class to which the most important word in the phrase
belongs.
Assessment
A. Read each item carefully, then choose the letter of the correct answer.
1. You can sleep on the beach or in the woods. The sentence has conjoined .
A. clauses B. predicates C. verb phrases D. prepositional phrases
2. Which of the following adjective phrases is syntactically correct?

A. the most perfect B. nearly perfect C. very perfect D. less perfect than
3. Ella was a girl who could surf but who was afraid to swim. The conjuncts in the sentence are
.
A. sentences B. relative clauses C. relative pronouns D. independent clauses
4. In the noun phrase, a sound advice from my grandmother who came last weekend, the
head is .
A. sound B. advice C. grandmother D. weekend
5. The judges chose Dutch the best dog in the show. The italicized phrase functions as .
A. object complement B. direct object C. indirect object D. appositive
6. The amount which she paid for is a student loan. The underlined words is considered .
A. an independent clause C. a fragment
B. a dependent clause D. a subject complement
7. The club meeting will be in an hour. The underlined phrase functions as .

A. subject complement B. predicate noun C. prepositional phrase D. adverbial
32
8. We watch the softball game on the front porch. Which question elicits the direct object
constituent?
A. Who watched the softball game? C. What did we watch?
B. What did we do? D. Where did we watch the game?
9. In the sentence, “The awardee that the committee chose comes from a poor family,” the
underlined group structure is .
A. a noun clause B. an adjectival clause C. an adverbial clause D. nominal structure
10. you learn to swim, you cannot go on this trip. The appropriate subordinating
conjunction to complete the sentence is .
A. If B. Unless C. Because D. Since
B. Determine the function of the subordinating clause in each statement.
Sentence Subordinating Clause Function

1. The bankers need to know what
they should do.
2. The books, which are lost, are not
really necessary.
3. Whether you like it or not, you have
to go to bed now.
4. Students who are studious get good
grades.
5. No one knows who he is.
6. When I was younger, I thought so.
7. He laughs best who laughs last.
8. I went to see what had happened.
9. He met a girl whose eyes were blue.
10. I shall remain where I am.
Enrichment Activity
Use appropriate subordinating and coordinating conjunctions to join the clauses into a single
sentence. Rewrite the sentences and change words and tenses, if necessary, but do not
remove information.
1. The circus came to town. Tickets were cheap. I decided to go with my friend.
33
2. The clowns drove up in a little car. There were a bunch of them. I didn’t think they would all
fit.
3. A guy stuck his head in the lion’s mouth. Bears were dancing in tutus. An elephant rode a
bike.
4. A man with a whip was beating the animals. The animals were sad. The man fed them a
snack.
5. I always have fun at the circus. A lady was selling snacks. I bought popcorn and cotton
candy.
6. A family did tricks on the flying trapeze. I took pictures. I thought one of them was going to
fall.
7. My belly hurt from eating junk. I had a good time. The circus is always fun.
References/Attributions:
Genetti, C. (2014). How languages work: An Introduction to language and linguistics.

Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Kenesei, I. (2018). On the definition of word classes.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323425374_On_the_definition_of_word_classes
Moore, A. (2005). The Structure of English language.

http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/engstruct.htm
34
Thorne, S. (2008). Mastering advanced English language.

https://www.scribd.com/doc/284755266/1-3-5-6-Mastering-Advanced-English-Language.
van Gelderen, E. (2002). An introduction to the grammar of English: Syntactic arguments

and socio-historical background.
https://dept.english.wisc.edu/rfyoung/eng-
324.summer2007.syllabus.html#Reference%20Grammars
Module No. 02
2
STUDENT
Name:
Student Number:
Program:
Section:
Home Address:
Email Address:
Contact Number:
PROFESSOR
3

III. Module Title SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS AND STRUCTURES
Module structures of the language focusing on the functions of word classes
or lexical and grammatical categories, phrases, and clauses in
various sentence structures and types.
Describing how English sentences are constructed is not the same

as telling people which sentences you consider examples of "good"
or "bad" grammar. Rather it is a way of looking inside native
speakers' heads in order to find out what they know about the
English language that allows them to communicate clearly. What
native speakers know about their language is called their
"competence." Native speakers' competence includes knowledge
about how to pronounce words and sentences (phonology), how to
break down a complex word like "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
into its component parts (morphology), and how to relate words and
sentences to their meanings (semantics).
In this module, you will make only passing mention of phonology,

morphology, or semantics; instead, you will direct your attention to
syntax -- the ways in which sentences are constructed from smaller
units called phrases and how sentences are related to each other.
 Demonstrate understanding of the functions of lexical and
grammatical categories in sentence structures;
 Acquire skills in analyzing simple and complex English
sentences; and,
 Appreciate the significant contribution of syntax to English
language teaching.

the module is
4
composed of varied types of questions. You may see true/false,

traditional multiple choice, matching, multiple answer,
completion, and/or essay. Pay attention to the answer to the
assessment questions as you move through each lesson. After
each module you will be given a summative test. Your responses
to the assessment parts of the module will be checked and
recorded.

Good luck.
Lesson 1. FUNCTIONS IN THE SENTENCE
In our previous discussions, we have dealt with the difference between grammatical
category and lexical category. Again, when we say grammatical category, it refers to word
with little meaning, e.g., Determiner, Quantifier, Auxiliary, Coordinator, and Complementizer
while lexical category pertains to a word with lexical meaning, such as a Noun, Verb,
Adjective, Adverb, and Preposition.
We also had a brief introduction as to phrases. As you already know, a phrase is a group of
related words group of related words centered around a head, such as NP, VP, PP, AdjP,
AdvP.
Today, we will be dealing with functions. Phrases and clauses have functions in the
sentence. These are the main sentential functions: Subject, Predicate, Complement (Direct
object, Indirect object, Subject predicate (or subject complement) Object predicate (or
object complement), and Adverbial.
5
Lesson Objectives

 Identify the different complements in sentences;
 Analyze the functions of complements in sentence construction; and,
 Compose a literary piece with the integration of complements.
Getting Started
Twit your thoughts about the functions in the sentence of phrases and clauses using the KWL
chart. Compose your message in these cell phones.
What I Know What I Want to Know What I Learned

6
Discussion
Subjects
The name of the phrase that performs the function and the function itself must be kept
separate.
Example 1:
• You’re always giving my therapist said.
• [My therapist] is an NP functioning as the subject of the sentence.
Example 2:
• You have to learn how to take.
• [You] is an NP pronoun functioning as the subject of the sentence.
Now, look at this sentence:
Whenever you meet a woman, the first thing you do is lend her your books.
 [Whenever you meet a woman] is an adverbial.
 [the first thing you do] is the subject.
 [is lend her your books] is the predicate.
 [lend her your books] is a subject is a subject predicate.
Three Diagnostic Tests for Subjects
1. Inversion in Yes/No
questions Examples:
• You think she’ll have to see you again.
= Do you think she’ll have to see you again in order to return them?
• She doesn’t have the time to read.

= Doesn’t she have the time to read them?
2. Agreement in number between the subject and verb/AUX
Examples:
• She’s afraid if she sees you again you’ll expect her to talk about them, and will
want to lend her even more.
= She’s afraid if she sees you again you’ll expect her to talk about them, and will
want to lend her even more.
= They are afraid if afraid if they see you again …
7
3. Tag questions
Examples:
• So she cancels the date.
= So she cancels the date, doesn’t she?
• You end up losing a lot of books. „

= You end up losing a lot of books, don’t you?
• You should borrow hers.

= You should borrow hers, shouldn’t you?
Object Predicates
In English grammar, an object predicate is an adjective, noun phrase, or prepositional

phrase that qualifies, describes, or renames the object that appears before it. It is also called
an object predicative, object attribute, and objective predicative complement.
Examples:
 President Obama appointed Paul Volcker chairman of the new Economic
Recovery Advisory Board.
 After firing several stun grenades, the SWAT team went inside and found the
building empty.
 Jenny's friends considered her extremely loyal and dedicated.
Direct Objects
In a sentence, the direct object is the noun or noun phrase that's receiving the action
of the verb. The basic construction works like this: Subject + Verb + Who or What.
Examples:
 Sasha paints landscapes.
 James accidentally tripped Claire as she walked out of her room.
 The dog hates when her owner puts her on a leash.
 Shannon loves traveling to Europe.
Indirect Objects
The indirect object of a verb receives the direct object. In effect, the action moves
from the subject, through the verb, to the direct object and then the indirect object.
Examples:
 noun (They normally give refugees shelter.)
8
 proper noun (The dealer sold John a fake.)

 noun phrase (They bought their eldest daughter a house.)
 pronoun (Please make her a new dress.)
Application
Write a short poem about your experiences during the pandemic. Integrate all complements
in constructing the poem. Underline the complements used and label them. Compose your
poem inside the box given below.
9
1. Main sentential functions are Subject, Predicate, Complement (Direct object,

Indirect object, Subject predicate (or subject complement) Object predicate (or
object complement), and Adverbial.
2. There are three diagnostic tests to determine subjects in sentences such as inversion
in Yes/No questions, agreement in number between the subject and verb/AUX, and
Tag questions.
3. Object predicates are often realized by an AdjP, an NP, or a PP. They modify the
object of a sentence.
4. The indirect object is another type of complement. Like the direct object, the indirect
object helps complete the meaning of a transitive verb. If a sentence has an indirect
object, it must also have a direct object.
5. The direct object is one type of complement. It completes the meaning of a transitive
verb. A direct object is a noun, pronoun, or word group that tells who or what receives
the action of the verb.
Assessment
A. Underline the subject in each of the sentences.
1. This problem we will explain in Chapter 5.

2. Her father I like, but her mother I can’t stand.
3. Sitting a few feet away from Miss Campbell in Court 13 was Piers Morgan, her arch
tormentor and Mirror editor.
4. Particularly interesting is the high percentage of unemployment in New England.
B. Circle the object predicate in each of the sentences.
1. She painted the house purple.

2 Jenni considers Pride and Prejudice a classic.
3. She put dinner on the table.
4. She turned him into a syntactician.
5. He made her very happy.
C. Box the Direct Object in each of the sentences.
1. Poetry harkens people from all across the globe.

2. Jack chased Jill and her merry band of friends.
3. Dad built a treehouse for my 11th birthday.
4. I assumed that the policy was canceled.
5. Tommy prefers the librarian with red glasses.
10
D. Put an ‘X’ on the Indirect Object in each of the sentences.
1. Professor Parinya assigned his students three new projects.

2. Do you always read your children a story at bedtime?
3. Matt bought his new wife a huge box of Belgian chocolates for her birthday.
4. The waiter made a bit of a mess pouring one of the guests a glass of wine.
5. Don't give him that book!
E. Analyze each of the sentences. Then, underline all the complements in each of the
sentences. On the line provided before the item, write whether the complement is an
Indirect Object, Direct Object, Subjective Complement, or Objective Complement.
1. They sold us the furniture.

2. Tom submits his tax Tom submits his tax-returns. returns.
3. She seemed very happy.
4. He found it easy.
5. He took the early train.
6. The politician considered that argument valid.
7. That sounds terrible.
Enrichment Activity
Use two tests to identify all the subjects in the poem “Politics” by W. B. Yeats.
11
Write down your answers here:

12
Lesson 2. FUNCTIONS OF PREPOSITIONS AND PARTICLES
Prepositional phrases and phrasal verbs are two of the most complicated grammar
forms to master in English. Many verbs do not fit neatly into one category or another. The best
way to learn about this topic is to study phrasal verbs. First, let’s review some simple
definitions.
Lesson Objectives

 Analyze the functions of prepositional verbs and phrasal verbs in sentences;
 Determine the appropriate use of prepositional and phrasal verbs in sentences; and
 Use adverbials, prepositional verbs and phrasal verbs in composing sentences.
Getting Started
Amélie Mauresmo stretches for a forehand volley

in her match against Paola Suarez.
What is the prepositional verb used in the sentence
above?
Answer:
Discussion
Prepositional Verb
A prepositional verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition. It is simply a verb

followed by a preposition. Some verbs require specific prepositions to be used after them in a
13
sentence. The combination of such a verb and its required preposition is called prepositional
verb.
Prepositional Verb = Verb + Preposition
Examples:
 He is knocking at the door.
 They care for the sick.
 We insist on our rights.
 She yearns for the open air.
Phrasal Verb
A phrasal verb is a verb that is made up of a main verb together with an adverb or a
preposition, or both. Typically, their meaning is not obvious from the meanings of the
individual words themselves.
Phrasal Verbs are Verb + Particle
Examples:
 She has always looked down on me.
 Fighting broke out among a group of 40 men.
 Don’t put me off, I’m trying to concentrate.
 The report spelled out the need for more staff.
For instance, in the first example, the phrasal verb ‘to look down on someone’ does not
mean that you are looking down from a higher place at someone who is below you; it means
that you think that you are better than someone.
Phrasal Verbs Allow Object Movement
1. She bashes out a forehand She bashes it out.
2. I called up the mayor. I called him up.
3. He brought up a good point. He brought one up.
4. Hand over the champagne Hand it over.
5. They covered up the scandal. They covered it up.

14
Three Tests for Prepositional or Phrasal Verbs
Test #1: Pausing
A pause can occur between a phrasal verb and its direct object, but a pause
cannot occur between the verb and the particle
I called up ––– the mayor. „

* I called ––– up the mayor. „
So, call up is a phrasal verb.
Test #2: Coordination
NP objects of prepositional verbs can be coordinated, but a particle of a

phrasal verb cannot be coordinated with an NP.
I glanced at the clock and my friend. „

*They covered up the scandal and the hole in the carpet. „
So glance at is a prepositional verb. „ But cover up is a
phrasal verb. Test #3: Movement
The NP object of a prepositional verb can be moved, but the particle and the
NP cannot be moved. „
Against the table he leaned. „

*In her assignment she turned. „
So lean against is a prepositional verb. „ But turn in is a phrasal verb.
Application
What is the difference in the meaning of each sentence? Which sentence is using a phrasal
verb? Which sentence is using a preposition?
1. I came up the ladder.

I came up with a solution.
15
2. I hang up the phone.

The picture hangs in the hallway.
3. The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.

The taxi turned into the parking garage.
4. She looked over her shoulder.

She looked over the writing assignment.
5. He broke up with his girlfriend of three

years. He broke the vase with a baseball
bat.
_
1. A prepositional verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition. It is simply a verb

followed by a preposition.
2. A phrasal verb is a verb that is made up of a main verb together with an adverb or a
preposition, or both.
3. Usually, phrasal verbs do not make sense without an object. Many times, the particle
(the second part of the phrasal verb) cannot be moved.
4. For prepositions, the sentence does not rely on the prepositional phrase to make
sense. A good way to test if something is a preposition is to move the prepositional
phrase to the front of the sentence. If it still makes sense, it is a preposition.
16
Assessment
Change the phrasal verbs to more formal verbs. You may consult a dictionary or list of phrasal
verbs to help you.
In recent years, the number of international students in American universities has (1.)
gone up dramatically. Several studies (2.) point out that these students do not receive the
language support they need. This has (3.) set off many faculty and staff members alike, who
have been trying out several different models of ESL services. This paper will (4.) go over which
models are most effective, and which ones (5.) come up most in TESOL research.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Environmental policymakers must (1.) clear up how their funding is (2.) spread out.
Many organizations (3.) cover up the fact that most of their funds go to advertising campaigns
as much as two thirds of all funding goes to new marketing strategies rather than action plans.
Before donors (4.) settle on an organization worthy of their contributions, they should (5.) look
up all available information on budgeting before (6.) signing up.
1.
6.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Enrichment Activity
Choose the most appropriate option to replace the underlined word. Shade the circle of
your answer.
1-It began to rain so we cancelled the match.
called off carried on got off
2-I asked him if he wanted to remove his coat.
put on put out take off

17
3-Sally resembles her mother, doesn't she?
looks at looks like looks
after 4-His new novel will be published next summer.
come in come out go out
5-He resigned from his job when the truth about his past became
known. gave up gave back went out
6-That's a good idea but I need time to meditate about it.
run over think over get over
7-The World War I began in 1914.
broke down broke into broke out
8-We never discovered why the accident happened.
tried on found out worked out
9-You must search the meaning of these words in the
dictionary. look at look on look up
10.A good friend will always support you.
stand for stand by turn down

18
Lesson 3. THE STRUCTURE OF THE VERB GROUP
You are already familiar with auxiliaries. The topic about this has been discussed even
in your previous subjects. But the question is, how will you know whether a verb is an auxiliary
verb? Actually, there are five tests for auxiliary verbs that will guide in determining auxiliary
verbs in sentences. The tests are enumerated below:
1. Auxiliaries must be used together with lexical verbs—unless ellipsis
occurs. 2 Auxiliaries have little meaning Instead they express tense and
aspect.
3. Auxiliaries invert in questions.
4. Auxiliaries occur before n’t.
5. Auxiliaries are used in tags.
Lesson Objectives

 Recognize the different auxiliaries;
 Analyze the functions of modals, finite and non-finite verbs in Sentences; and,
 Compose a literary piece integrating different auxiliaries.
Getting Started
Read and analyze some lines taken from Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Ugly
Duckling.” Afterwards, find the auxiliaries and underline them.
19
Discussion
Modals
They are Auxiliary verbs that provide additional and specific meaning to the main verb
of the sentence. Modal verbs are: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must.
Now, take a look at this:

CITY COLLEGE OF CALAMBA
Dalubhasaan ng Lungsod ng Calamba
20
In affimative it’s a normal verb fl.ââ.éfi. ..!é.*.!fié?.â.tT.â....

In negative you can use the You don’t need to carry leap
normal verb 0 the m0dal one things
NECESSITY You needn’t early heavy thlP s
D0N’THAY TO It's not necessary
E You do ’I flare to carp heavy
In future things
HAVE T0 You’ll have to slay in hospital for
surges
ADVICE To ask for and give advice. f00 6h0IJldh’t S//t0#6 60 iTilJ6h
SH0L/LO
OPINION In ast, use erfect infinitive You are ill, ou shouldnl Faye
OUGHT TO Stron er than Si OULD smoked
You ou htn’t to smoke so much
cAN Certainty It could rain
C0ULd In negative means impossibility - - - -
You coola nt run a n rath oa
BE ABLE S eculatin about the ast --
70
You could have run faster/ast
la
POSSIBILITY Less p0SSlble It may rain
MAY S eculatin about the ast Yesterda it ma tarer6//t9b
Remote possibility. It right raln
Speculating about the past Yesterday it might Care rained
III(0Mâl 6%lb0F0C OU 9D?

*'*"" C0Jf0 011(I 0Sé 0VO0SOñOé00f, é8OO!
P0J£OI/1LU4
0ffEt6 P0Ef8 011(8 I/I/0///# OU /l/6 N0f9 C0#98f
SHélt SOlil0#OQlO#00f!
Sfl0J1d 70VS#0 d/0Q#U0S%9M0fO
SflGGESTlOfi 0U0H7 f0
SHé1f/C0Lf4
21
Perfect Auxiliary ‘Have’
The verb have can be an auxiliary or a main verb in English.
have as a main verb
Affirmative sentences Negative sentences Questions
I have a new guitar. I don't have a new guitar. Do I have a new guitar?
She doesn't have a Does she have a new

She has a new guitar.
new guitar. guitar?
I did not have a new

I had a new guitar. Did I have a new guitar?
guitar.
have as an auxiliary and a main verb
Affirmative sentences Negative sentences Questions
I have seen Peter. I haven't seen Peter. Have I seen Peter?
She has seen Peter. She hasn't seen Peter. Has she seen Peter?
I had seen Peter. I hadn't seen Peter. Had I seen Peter?
They will have spoken They won't have spoken Will they have spoken to
to Peter. to Peter. Peter?
22
The verb "BE" as an auxiliary and a full verb
The verb BE can be used as an auxiliary and a full verb. As an auxiliary we use this
verb for compound tenses and the passive voice. Note that be is an irregular verb:
Simple Present: I am, he/she/it is, we/you/they are

Simple Past: I/he/she/it was, we/you/they were
Past Participle: been
You can tell that in the following sentences be is an auxiliary because it is followed by
another verb (the full verb). (For progressive forms use the "-ing" form of the full verb; for
passive voice, use the past participle of the full verb.)
Progressive Forms
Present Progressive: He is playing football.

Past Progressive: He was playing football.
Present Perfect Progressive: He has been playing football.
Past Perfect Progressive: He had been playing football.
Passive
Simple Present/Past: The house is/was built.

Present/Past Perfect: The house has/had been built.
Future I: The house will be built.
"BE" as a full verb
The verb be can also be a full verb. In this case, it is not followed by another verb. If be
is used as a full verb, we do not need an auxiliary in negative sentences or questions.
positive sentence: They are fifteen years old.

negative sentence: They are not fifteen years
old. question: Are they fifteen years old?
Finite and NonFinite Verbs
A complete sentence consists of a subject and a finite verb. A finite verb agrees with
the subject (in the present tense); indicates present or past; and has a subject in the
nominative case. Moreover, finite verbs are governed by the person and number of the
subject.
23
Examples:
I am driving down the lane.

Bandana drives to college.
They drive very fast.
The verb in a sentence fragment is non-finite. A non-finite verb does not agree with the
subject; does not indicate present or past; and does not have a subject in the nominative
case. Non-finite verbs do not change their form even when the person and the number of the
subject changes.
Examples:
I want to eat something delicious.

Bandana has to eat apples every day.
They want to eat eggs for breakfast.
Non-finite verbs are of three kinds: Gerund: The ‘-ing’ form of the verb which is used as
a noun is called a gerund. It is also called the verbal noun.
Examples:
Taking exercise is important.

Running is a good way to keep fit.
Infinite: The infinitive is the base form of the verb. It is often used with ‘to’ or without ‘to’.
Infinitives with ‘to’ before them are called ‘to-infinitives.’
Examples:
David and I agreed to meet at 4 o’clock.

I’ll arrange to see the dentist straight
away.
Participle: There are two kinds of participles: Present participles are formed by
adding ‘- ing’ to the base verb.
Example: I have been reading.
Past participles are formed by adding -d, -ed, -en, -t or -n to the base verb.
Example: I have worked.

24
Application
Tell us a short story about how you have been making yourself busy during this pandemic.
Make use of all modal verbs, finite and non-finite verbs in your piece and underline them.
(Title)
25
1. An auxiliary verb is a verb that adds functional or grammatical meaning to the clause in
which it appears, so as to express tense, aspect, modality, voice, emphasis, etc.
2. They are Auxiliary verbs that provide additional and specific meaning to the main
verb of the sentence.
3. The verb have can be an auxiliary or a main verb in English.
4. The verb BE can be used as an auxiliary and a full verb.
5. A finite verb agrees with the subject (in the present tense); indicates present or past;
and has a subject in the nominative case.
6. A non-finite verb does not agree with the subject; does not indicate present or past;
and does not have a subject in the nominative case.
Assessment
A. Complete each sentence with the most appropriate modal verb. Write the answer on
the line provided.
1. My grandmother is eighty-five, but she still read and write without glasses. (Ability)
A. can B. could C. may
2. I come with you?

A. Can B. Will C. Would
3. you help me with the housework, please? (Polite request)

A. Could B. Will C. Should
4. There was a time when I stay up very late. (Past ability)

A. would B. could C. can
5. You not lose any more weight. You are already slim. (Necessity)
A. may B. need C. should
6. We make the first move. (Prohibition)

A. must not B. will not C. cannot
7. It is snowing outside so I stay at home. (Intention)

A. may B. will C. can
8. I get you a shawl from Kashmir. (Promise)

A. will B. would C. can
26
9. you mind if I borrowed your car? (Permission)

A. Will B. Would C. Should
10. you take care of my dog for a day? (Polite request)

A. Will B. Shall C. Should
B. Read and analyze each of the sentence. Then, underline once the finite verb and twice the
non-finite verb in each of the given sentences.
1. The doctor is attending to the injured people.

2. She opened the door.
3. The students were asked to submit their assignments by Friday.
4. The teacher encouraged the students to work hard.
5. The dog wagged its tail to show its happiness.
Enrichment Activity
A. Complete each sentence with the most appropriate modal verb. Encircle the correct
answer.
1. My son be home by now. Where can he be?

a. Have to b. would c. should d. could
2. I think your thumb is broken. You go to the emergency room.

a. Might b. could c. ought to d. can
3. If you are interested in losing weight, you try this new diet.
a. Could b. mustn’t c. don’t have to d. had to
4. John’s fallen down the stairs! I call an ambulance!

a. Will b. might c. may d. ought to
5. You come too early. We won’t leave until 9 o’clock.

a. Has to b. must c. needn’t d. can’t
6. Children be accompanied by an adult at the zoo.

a. Ought to b. must c. would d. mustn’t
7. You talk during tests. It’s forbidden!

a. don’t have to b. mustn’t c. couldn’t d. ought to
27
8. I can feel the heat. We be near the fire.

a. Can b. would c. must d. have to
9. They hear him because he was whispering.

a. Wouldn’t b. mustn’t c. shouldn’t d. couldn’t
10. You’ve never heard of Britney Spears? You be serious!

a. Must b. had to c. can’t d. shouldn’t
B. Read and analyze each of the sentence. Then, underline once the finite verb and twice the
non-finite verb in each of the given sentences.
1. My little brother wants to be an actor.

2. She worked hard to pass the test.
3. I couldn’t solve the problem.
4. To err is human.
5. Your duty is to cross the river without getting noticed.
Genetti, C. (2014). How languages work: An Introduction to language and linguistics.

Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Kenesei, I. (2018). On the definition of word classes.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323425374_On_the_definition_of_word_classes


van Gelderen, E. (2002). An introduction to the grammar of English: Syntactic arguments

and socio-historical background.
https://dept.english.wisc.edu/rfyoung/eng-
324.summer2007.syllabus.html#Reference%20Grammars
Module No. 03
2
STUDENT
Name:
Student Number:
Program:
Section:
Home Address:
Email Address:
Contact Number:
PROFESSOR
3

III. Module Title PHRASE STRUCTURE RULES
Module structures of the language focusing on the functions of word classes
or lexical and grammatical categories, phrases, and clauses in
various sentence structures and types.
Describing how English sentences are constructed is not the same

as telling people which sentences you consider examples of "good"
or "bad" grammar. Rather it is a way of looking inside native
speakers' heads in order to find out what they know about the
English language that allows them to communicate clearly. What
native speakers know about their language is called their
"competence." Native speakers' competence includes knowledge
about how to pronounce words and sentences (phonology), how to
break down a complex word like "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"
into its component parts (morphology), and how to relate words and
sentences to their meanings (semantics).
In this module, you will make only passing mention of phonology,

morphology, or semantics; instead, you will direct your attention to
syntax -- the ways in which sentences are constructed from smaller
units called phrases and how sentences are related to each other.
 Demonstrate understanding of the functions of lexical and
grammatical categories in sentence structures;
 Acquire skills in analyzing simple and complex English
sentences; and,
 Appreciate the significant contribution of syntax to English
language teaching.

the module is
4
composed of varied types of questions. You may see true/false,

traditional multiple choice, matching, multiple answer,
completion, and/or essay. Pay attention to the answer to the
assessment questions as you move through each lesson. After
each module you will be given a summative test. Your responses
to the assessment parts of the module will be checked and
recorded.

Good luck.
Lesson 1. THE STRUCTURE OF NP, AdjP, AdvP, AND PP
In this lesson, you will dig deeper about phrases. Let us recall what a phrase is. A
phrase is a group of words that does not contain a verb and its subject and is used a singles
part of speech.
The definition contains three characteristics:

 It specifies that only a group of words can constitute a phrase, implying that a single
word cannot.
 It distinguishes phrases from clauses.
 It requires that the groups of words believed to be a phrase constitute a single
grammatical unit.
5
Lesson Objectives

 Compare and contrast different phrases such as NP, AdjP, AdvP, and PP;
 Analyze the structure of each of the phrases mentioned above; and
 Use the different phrases in composing a biography.
Getting Started
Pre-Test: Read and analyze each of the items. Then, shade the circle of the correct answer.
1. Phrases are grammatical units that consist
of one or more words
more than one word
2. A noun phrase with more than one word can consist of a noun and words that…
replace the noun
qualify the noun
3. "The tour includes three Asian countries." Which is a noun phrase?
The tour includes
three Asian countries
4. A verb phrase consists of a main verb and its…
auxiliary verbs
phrasal verbs
5. "She has been studying all day." Which is a verb
phrase? studying all day
has been studying
6. An adjective phrase can be a single adjective or a group of words built around…
an adjective
a single noun
6
7. "Cats are playful pets, but dogs are very loyal as well." This sentence
has one adjective phrase
two adjective phrases
8. Which sentence has an adverb
phrase? She sings very nicely.
She sings very nice songs.
9. A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and its…
object
subject
10. "We always play football after work." Which is a prepositional
phrase? always play football
after work
Discussion
A word and a phrase may play identical grammatical roles in a clause.
Examples:
Most of the members of the genus avis

fly. Birds fly.
Single words and phrases may be replaced by identical proforms.
Examples:
They fly.
They fly.
A single word may be a phrase when it is the HEAD of that phrase. The head of a
phrase is the phrase’s central element.
The head of the phrase determines the phrase’s grammatical category. If the head is a
noun, the phrase is a noun phrase, if the head is a verb, the phrase is a verb phrase.
7
Example:
Fooster hates the cabbage. Fooster hates it.
TAKE NOTE:
Pronoun as a word can replace either nouns or noun phrases.
Fooster hates cabbage.
Noun Phrase
SIMPLE NPs: SINGLE WORD PHRASES
Category of the head word Example
Noun, count Wombats are playful.

Noun, non-count cabbage is nutritious.
8
Subject and object personal pronouns They saw her

Genitive personal pronouns Mine are good.
Indefinite pronoun/quantifier None were found
Wh-word/pronoun Who placed the call?
MORE COMPLEX NPs: SINGLE-WORD PREMODIFIER + HEAD
Form of Premodifier Example
Article The wombats escaped.

Adjective Phrase Strong winds
Demonstrative Pronoun That vase is valuable.
Genitive NP Shiela’s serve is powerful.
Genitive Pronoun Her serve is powerful.
Noun Metal plates shielded the instruments.
Form of Premodifier Example
Indefinite Pronoun/Quantifier Some survivors remained.

Wh-word Which lobster do you want?
Numeral Seven boxes fell.
Ordinal Second thoughts assailed us.
Quantifier Several vats of beer.
Negative No accidents were reported.
MORE COMPLEX NPs: HEAD + PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

9
1. songs about rebellion

2. clocks on the wall
3. walks with my mother
4. arguments about abortion
5. reasons for my hesitation
6. sources of concern
Study the different examples presented below:
 The spotted puppy is up for

adoption. (Noun phrase as a subject)
 The bohemian household was well-

decorated. (Noun phrase as a subject)
 I see a striped zebra.

(Noun phrase as an object to the verb "see")
 I want a spotted puppy for Christmas.

(Noun phrase as an object to the verb "want")
 Mary lives in an eclectic household.

(Noun phrase as a prepositional object; preposition = "in")
 Jose drives to an awful job every morning.
(Noun phrase as a prepositional object; preposition = "to")
 The car wash was out of order.
(Noun phrase with "car" acting as an adjective for the noun "wash")
 The Delta Airlines flight to New York is ready to board.

(Noun phrase with "Delta Airlines" acting as an adjective for the noun "flight")
 She neglected to offer water to the man exhausted from too much
work. (Noun phrase as a participle)
10
 Having been a police officer, he knew how to defend

himself. (Noun phrase as a participle)
 The ability to give to others is an important character
trait. (Noun phrase as a "to-infinitive")
 Our decision to get married was celebrated by

all. (Noun phrase as a "to-infinitive")
 She crawled through the dark and musty attic.

(Noun phrase as a prepositional phrase; preposition = "through")
 He sat beside the horribly angry girl.

(Noun phrase as a prepositional phrase; preposition = "beside")
 Her face red with embarrassment, she finally took her seat beside
the man.
(Noun phrase as an absolute phrase to the subject "she")
 They walked into the sunset, their laughter carrying through the
breeze. (Noun phrase as an absolute phrase to the subject "they")
Adverb Phrase
The following are examples of adverb phrases:
a. beautifully (adverb alone)

b. quite reluctantly (adverb modified by intensifier)
c. extremely clumsily (adverb modified by degree adverb)
Each AdvP must contain a head, which must be an adverb; this adverb may be
modified by an intensifier or by a degree adverb.
TYPICAL INTENSIFIERS AND DEGREE ADVERBS
very extraordinarily
quite reasonably
rather particularly
too extremely
more/most terrifically
only somewhat
11
Prepositional Phrase
The following are typical prepositional phrases:
1. on the waterfront
2. of education
3. beyond the blue horizon
4. from the hall
5. with malice toward none
PPs are very simple: they consist of a head preposition and an object or complement,
which typically an NP.
Head + Object
In the garden from behind the curtain

12
Adjective Phrase
Each of the following is an AP:
1. Impertinent (adjective alone)

2. Very impertinent (intensifier + adjective)
3. Unaware of any wrongdoing (adjective + PP)
4. Disappointed that someone had lied (adjective + clause)
5. Afraid to make a move (adjective + infinitival)
6. Fully aware of his surroundings (adverb + adjective + PP)
(Modifier) + Head + (Complement)
The modifiers can be either intensifies or degree adverbs, the complements may be PPs
finite clauses, or infinitivals.
Only some types of adjectives take complements – mainly those that denote mental or
emotional states, e.g aware, afraid, sorry, disappointed, astonished, hopeful, sad.
Verb Phrase
13
 The tires screeched as Selena mashed the accelerator.

 Selena is always disobeying the speed limit.
 Selena should have been driving with more care, for then she would not
have gotten her third ticket this year.
Note:
Since a verb phrase might use up to four words, a
short adverb —such as also,never, or not—might try to sneak in
between the parts. When you find an adverb snuggled in a verb
phrase, it is still an adverb, not part of the verb.
Read these examples:
For her birthday, Selena would also like a radar detector.
Would like = verb; also = adverb.
To avoid another speeding ticket, Selena will never again take her eyes off the road to
fiddle with the radio.
Will take = verb; never, again = adverbs.
Despite the stern warning from Officer Carson, Selena has not lightened her foot on the
accelerator.
Has lightened = verb; not = adverb.
Grow in my garden is very beautiful
Application
14
Introduce yourself to us. Write a biography in a very creative manner. Infuse all phrases discussed in
composing your biography. Underline each phrase and label it. Write your answer inside the box
below.
15
1. A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a verb and its subject and is used a
singles part of speech.
2. A noun phrase, or nominal, is a phrase that has a noun as its head or performs the
same grammatical function as a noun.
3. Each AdvP must contain a head, which must be an adverb; this adverb may be
modified by an intensifier or by a degree adverb.
4. PPs are very simple: they consist of a head preposition and an object or complement,
which typically an NP.
5. An adjective phrase is a group of words that describe a noun or pronoun in a sentence.
6. A verb phrase consists of an auxiliary, or helping, verb and a main verb.
Assessment
A. Identify the noun phrases in the following sentences. Underline your answers.
1. The accused refused to answer the question.

2. The boy denied stealing the money.
3. To write such rubbish is disgraceful.
4. I dislike having to punish my kids.
5. I will hate to do such a thing.
B. Locate the prepositional phrases in each sentence. Encircle each phrase. Each item may
have multiple answers.
1. On the fifth day of each month, Mr. Brown collects all of the reports from his students in
every class except the last one.
2. Take the child to the store on 5th Avenue for some new clothes.
3. As the snow gradually melted near that neighborhood, people with snow shovels in their
hands emerged from their homes.
4. Throughout his life, Henry slept soundly on a twin bed by the front window.
5. Meg answered the telephone within a minute of the first ring.
6. Under normal circumstances, we keep all records in the file cabinet until the next semester.
7. The play about the brave hero was considered a success by everyone but the nasty critic
at the local paper.
8. After two false starts, the referee warned the athletes about the penalties for such actions.
9. Without you at my side, I cannot do much of anything before ten o'clock on the first day of
each week.
10. Like any stranger on her way to the next town, the traveler from Barcelona lifted her
suitcase and headed toward the bus station near 42nd Street.
16
C. Identify the adjective phrases in the following sentences.
1. We visited many villages without any inhabitants.

2. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
3. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
4. He was a young man of great promise.
5. In a low voice, he narrated the tale of his adventures.
D. Underline the adverb phrases in the following sentences.
1. The desert stretched towards the north.

2. The gun went off with a loud noise.
3. The fishers went sailing over the sea.
4. He lay beside the heap of corn.
5. She whispered in his ear.
6. He fought with all his might.
7. He shouted at the top of his voice.
8. It must be done at any cost.
9. Much water has run under the bridge.
10. Without pausing to consider he struck the blow.
E. Underline the entire verb phase in each of the sentences.
1. Next month I will volunteer at Children's Hospital.
2. The Kansas City Royals did win the 1985 World Series.
3. My brother has forgotten his locker key again this week.
4. My family has not invited John to the party.
5. Karen can almost always memorize anything.
Enrichment Activity
Provide phrase markers / diagram for the following.
1. a white dress with a dropped waistline

2. the east gate of the park
3. those large paintings by Renoir
4. the rather frightening bats up under the eaves
5. a tall, bald man with a bushy moustache

18
Lesson 2. SYNTACTIC DIAGRAMMING
Tree diagrams and labelled bracketing are ways of representing the relationship
between constituents. As with other aspects of language, syntactic structures (phrases,
clauses, sentences) are principled and systematic, with the potential for detailed analysis and
description. Words that occur in phrases and sentences can be shown not only to have
semantic, or meaningful, relationships to each other, but also to have intricate grammatical
relationships to each other.
Lesson Objectives

 Identify and discuss syntactic constituents in a sentence;
 Demonstrate understanding of the functions of various types of phrases, clauses and
sentences; and,
 Apply the correct sentence structure in communication.
Getting Started
What do you know about the diagram below? Share your insights.
19
Discussion
Look at the examples given below for representation of the sentence in (1).
i) Tree diagram ii) Labeled bracketing
In (i) we see the representation of the sentence in (1) using a tree diagram. In (ii) we
see the representation of the same sentence using labelled bracketing.
In labelled bracketing the sentence is put in square brackets. The constituents are
enclosed in square brackets too. The label at the leftmost bottom corner of the bracket gives
the information about the grammatical category of the constituent. In (ii) the first open square
bracket comes with the label “S” and encloses the whole sentence, to indicate that “Birds fly”
is a sentence. The next open bracket with the label “NP” indicates that Birds is a noun phrase.
And the third open bracket with the label “VP” indicates that fly is a verb phrase. Every
bracket that is opened has to be closed as well, so in (ii) we see that three open brackets
equal three close brackets.
Now we shall understand basics of a tree diagram with the help of the example in (i). In
the later sections of this lesson, we shall learn to draw tree diagrams for different types of
phrases, clauses and sentences. The tree diagram in (i) is given below again for easy
reference.
Birds fly.
20
This tree diagram as we know already is a notation of the structure of the sentence, in
order to make it easy for us to understand and explain the structure. Here “S”, “NP” and “VP”
are called nodes. The lines that move from S to NP and VP are called branches. There is a
linear relationship and also a hierarchical relationship between the nodes and other
constituents of the structure. So, we say that NP and VP are sister nodes as they share a linear
relationship between them like that of sisterhood. They occur at the same level and show
syntagmatic relationship. Similarly, S is the mother node and NP and VP are the daughter
nodes, as they share a hierarchical relationship between them. We see that S dominates the
NP and the VP. It is at a higher level than NP and VP. We also understand that NP and VP are
the immediate constituents of S.
The triangle in this tree diagram indicates that this tree diagram does not show the
complete analysis of the structure down to its last constituent. Instead, it denotes that the
analysis is incomplete and that this tree can be analyzed further down into other constituents
of the NP and the VP. Wherever the analysis is complete we see branches and not triangles
in the tree diagram.
How would you divide this sentence into phrases?

The children put the toys in the box.
The Main Phrase Structure Rules
1. S → NP VP S- Sentence NP-Noun Phrase

2. NP → (Art) (AP) N (PP) VP- Verb Phrase Art- Article
3. VP → (Aux) V (NP) AP- Adjective Phrase N- Noun
4. PP → P (NP) PP- Prepositional Phrase
Aux- Helping Verb P- Preposition
21
This is how tree diagramming looks like.
Up Side Down Tree
Now, study the following examples of phrase and sentence structures.
Example: Phrase Tree
play with the toy - VP
1
Example: Sentence Tree
He/likes the toy.

22
Example: Sentence Tree 2

The children/put the toy in the box.
Application
A. Draw the tree structure of each phrase. Use the space provided.
1. repair the telephone
2. the success of the program
3. a film about pollution

4. move towards the window
5. The end of the road
B. Draw the tree structure of the following sentences. Use the space provided.
a) Those guests should leave.
b) Maria never ate a brownie.

c) That shelf will fall.
d) The glass broke.
e) The student lost the debate.
f) The manager may offer a raise.

25
1. Language has a structure that is based on neat arrangement of different constituents in

a particular order. Each constituent in the structure has a specific function and shares
certain relationship with the other constituents in the structure.
2. Tree diagrams and labelled bracketing are ways of representing the relationship
between constituents.
3. The main structure rules are: S- Sentence NP-Noun Phrase VP- Verb Phrase Art- Article
AP- Adjective Phrase N- Noun PP- Prepositional Phrase Aux- Helping Verb P- Preposition.
Assessment
Draw the tree diagram of the following sentences.
1. My boss was very happy about her promotion.
2. He put the car into the garage.

3. Her children have gone to the movies.
4. The police examined a photograph of the accident.
5. They arrested the suspect in the hotel.

27
Enrichment Activity
A. Draw the tree diagram of these phrases.
1. repair the telephone
2. the success of the program
3. a fat ladies man
B. Draw the tree diagram of these ambiguous phrases.
1. Jane hid the letter from Dan.

28
2. He likes raw vegetables and meat.
3. The teacher spoke to the boy with a smile.


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Structure of English

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Structure of English

I. Course Title STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH

This also emphasizes the in-depth understanding on the different

The module is designed to assess student understanding of the

Because the assessment questions are available within the whole

discuss the assessments with you during their consultation time,

You may not work collaboratively. This is independent work.

Lesson 1. LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Park Seo Joon creativity either...or

Name Act Modify Connect Relate

Open Class Words

Proper versus Common Nouns

Abstract versus Concrete Nouns

Count versus Non-Count Nouns

boy boys water

Main Verbs and Auxiliaries

- Bernie sings well.

It is - it’s could not - couldn’t

I am - I’m ought not - oughtn’t

The auxiliary verb also has the following functions:

1. It is used in Yes-No questions.

2. It is used in negative constructions.

3. It is used to avoid unnecessary repetition.

4. It is used for emphasis or determination.

PRESENT PAST FUTURE

I write I wrote I shall write

I am writing I was writing I shall be writing

I have written I had written I shall have written

Active and Passive Voice

- The ball was kicked by Type (Okon still the performer)

- In March, the land is cultivated.

Transitive and Intransitive Verb

Transitive verbs require objects or complements to make full meaning in a

- They buy clothes monthly.

Adjectives. Things, persons, entities need to be distinguished, differentiated, limited,

Attributive and Predicative Adjectives

- The beautiful girl is here.

- The woman is beautiful.

According to Ndimele (1993), as cited by Kenesei (2018), some adjectives

- The hungry man is here.

 Colour : red, blue, yellowish, forest green, sky-blue

Adjectives can occur in a stretch indicating (a) quality, (b) temperature,

- A very beautiful rich tall black Nigerian woman

The order of occurrence of adjectives can easily be determined through

- Vlad dances well.

- Certainly, I know him.

 Interrogative Adverbs are often used at the beginning of a sentence to ask a

 Adverbs of Time denote the interval of occurrence of actions.

Closed Class Words

Examine these sentences:

 position (support or opposition)

Special Usage of Prepositions

1. We travel by sea, land or air.

2. a. I will see you at 8 o’clock (point of time)

3. I have known him for two years (length of time)

4. Divide this orange between Simon and Ella (two)

5. Stay beside me (near)

6. We met on the train, bus, boat or plane.

7. I will see you with regard to the journey.

8. I agree with you on the plan.

9. Let’s see about 3.00 p.m. (approximately)