GRAMÁTICA INGLESA II

Juan Santana Lario

Tfno 958 241000 - Ext. 20243
Fax 958 243678.
jsantana@ugr.es
www.ugr.es/local/jsantana

Workshet 4.1. Coordination and Subordination - KEY

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Using the example below as corpus:

While Mary was parking the car, John bought the tickets, then started back across the road
without looking to right or left and just as he was reaching the other side he was knocked down
by a bus and badly injured.

A) TRADITIONAL ANALYSIS (Quirk,14.1-4)

1) Define and illustrate the following notions:

i. Sentence ii. Compound Sentence iii. Complex Sentence iv. Clause
v. Main Clause vi. Superordinate Clause v. Subordinate Clause
2) Attempt a full traditional analysis.
3) Discuss the main problems you find in the analysis.

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 GRAMÁTICA INGLESA II
Juan Santana Lario
Tfno 958 241000 - Ext. 20243
Fax 958 243678.
jsantana@ugr.es
www.ugr.es/local/jsantana

TRADITIONAL ANALYSIS: OUTLINE

(COMPOUND) SENTENCE

(COMPLEX) SENTENCE1 Asyndetic (SIMPLE) SENTENCE2 Coord. (COMPOUND) SENTENCE3

Coord. and

(MAIN/SUPERORDINATE) CLAUSE1 (MAIN) CLAUSE2 (COMPLEX) SENTENCE3.1 Coord. (COMPLEX) SENTENCE3.2

and
(MAIN/SUPERORDINATE) CLAUSE3.1 (MAIN/SUPERORDINATE) CLAUSE3.1

[A1 S P OD] [(A1) A (S) P A A A] [(A1) A2 A3 S P A] [(A1) (A2) (A3) (S) A P ]

While Mary was parking the car, then started back across the road just as he was reaching the other badly injured.
John bought the tickets, without looking to right or left side he was knocked down by a
bus

DETAILED ANALYSIS: NEXT PAGE

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 GRAMÁTICA INGLESA II
Juan Santana Lario
Tfno 958 241000 - Ext. 20243
Fax 958 243678.
jsantana@ugr.es
www.ugr.es/local/jsantana

(SIMPLE) SENTENCE2
(MAIN) CLAUSE2
A (S) P A A A
(COMPLEX) SENTENCE1 (Conj. (Mat.) (Place (Place (Manner
(MAIN/SUPERORDINATE) CLAUSE1 Listing) Pos. Dir. Pos. Dir. Adj.)
A S P OD Adj.) Adj.)
(Time Position Adjunct) (Ag.) (Mat.) (Aff.) AdvP VP AdvP PP PP
Adverbial Finite Cl NP VP NP
Sub. S P OD then started back across without
Conj NP VP NP the road looking to
While Mary was the car John bought the right or
parking tickets, left

(COMPOUND) SENTENCE3
(COMPLEX) SENTENCE3.1 (COMPLEX)
SENTENCE3.2
(MAIN/SUPERORDINATE) CLAUSE3.1 (MAIN/SUPERORDI
NATE) CLAUSE3.2
A A (Time Position Adjunct) S P A Coord. A P
(Foc.
Subj.)
AdvP Adverbial Finite Clause NP VP PP Conj AdvP VP
Sub S P OD
just as he was the he was by a bus and badly Injured
reaching other knocked
side down

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 GRAMÁTICA INGLESA II
Juan Santana Lario
Tfno 958 241000 - Ext. 20243
Fax 958 243678.
jsantana@ugr.es
www.ugr.es/local/jsantana

ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS:

(COMPLEX) SENTENCE1

A (Sentence Adjunct) (COMPOUND) SENTENCE2

CL1 CL2.1 Asyndetic CL2.2 Coord. (COMPLEX) SENTENCE2.3

Coord. ‘and’
A (Sentence (COMPOUND) SENTENCE2.3.2
Sub. S P OD S P OD A (S) P A A A Adjunct)
CL2.3.2.1 Coord. CL2.3.2.2
CL2.3.1 ‘and’

A Sub S P OD S P A (S) A P
(Foc.Subj)

John bought the tickets, then started back across the he was knocked down badly injured.
road without looking by a bus
to right or left
just as he was reaching
the other side
While Mary was parking the car,

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 GRAMÁTICA INGLESA II
Juan Santana Lario
Tfno 958 241000 - Ext. 20243
Fax 958 243678.
jsantana@ugr.es
www.ugr.es/local/jsantana

DEFINITIONS (examples above):

 Sentence : Many differente approaches : according to Quirk and many other traditional grammarians : the highest grammatical unit : the result of combining clauses by
means of either coordination (‘Compound Sentence’ ; eg. (adapted frome eg. 2 above ): (Sentence[CL1 She was amazed at the warm treatment the family has received] and
[CL2 she knew what the outcome would be]) ) or subordination (‘Complex Sentence’ ; eg : They would never get past the door because they would be electrocuted if they
tried.) ; however no ‘grammatical structure’ (in terms of ‘grammatical constituents’) is usually provided ; For some grammarians, not a grammatical, but a rhetorical,
orthographic, textual unit which may ‘take the form of’ (rather than ‘consist of’) a clause, but not necessarily ; it has also been suggested that the term Sentence be used for
the grammatical unit resulting from combining Clauses with ‘external dependents’ (Disjuncts, Clause Adjuncts and the like) : the structure of this grammatical constituent
would be similar to that of phrases (Dependent + Head, where the ‘Dependent’ is typically realized by (Adverbial) Clauses (‘Whatever others may think’), Prepositional Phrase
(‘In his interview’), or Adverb Phrases (‘surely’), and the ‘Head’ is typically realized by a Clause. All 4 examples above would be ‘Sentences’ in any of these senses.

 Compound Sentence : Sentence that consists of clauses linked by coordination.

 Complex Sentence : Sentence that consists of clauses linked by subordination (clause within clause)

 Clause : the highest grammatical unit (above the level of phrase), that is, the highest linguistic unit to which a grammatical structure can be assigned ; a unit whose the
grammatical structure contains at least a Subject and a Predicate.

 Main CL : a clause that is not subordinated to any other clause. A main clause may contain subordinated clauses, in which case it is called ‘complex sentence’ (by Quirk) ; if
the main clause does not contain subordinated clauses, it is called a ‘simple sentence’ (by Quirk)

 Superordinate Cl : a clause that contains a subordinate clause realizing one of its syntactic constituents ; a superordinate clause may itself be subordinated to another
superordinate clause .

 Subordinate Cl: a clause contained within another (superordinate) clause realizing one of its syntactic constituents.

 Matrix Cl : That part of a complex sentence (in Quirk’s sense) that remains when subordinate Adverbial Clauses, specially if they are Disjuncts or Clause Adjuncts, are
removed :

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 GRAMÁTICA INGLESA
Juan Santana Lar
Tfno 958 241000 - Ext. 202
Fax 958 24367
jsantana@ugr
www.ugr.es/local/jsanta

2. Indicate whether the clauses in each sentence are joined by a subordinating conjunction
(SC), a coordinating conjunctions (CC) or a conjunct (C); Indicate the type of logico-
semantic relationship between clauses in each case:

1. Her plants grow, because she talks to them. (SC) [CAUSE/REASON]

2. She talks to her plants, so they grow. (C) [CAUSE – EFFECT/RESULT]
3. She talks to her plants, and they grow. (CC) [CAUSE – EFFECT/RESULT]
4. He likes Back, but she prefers Jay-Z. (CC) [CONTRAST: ADVERSATIVE]
5. He likes Bach, although she prefers Jay-Z. (SC) [CONTRAST: ADVERSATIVE]
6. He likes Back; however, she prefers Jay-Z. (C) [CONTRAST: ADVERSATIVE]
7. He is going bowling, or he would be at the meeting. (CC) [ALTERNATIVE: CORRECTION]
8. He is going bowling; otherwise he would be at the meeting. (C) [ALTERNATIVE: CORRECTION]
9. He would be at the meaning, if he weren’t going bowling. (SC) [ALTERNATIVE: CORRECTION]

3. Coordination, subordination and conjuncts: Rephrase the following sentences using

alternative ways of linking the clauses. Indicate the type of logico-semantic relationship
between clauses in each case:

10. He reached for the phone and asked for the operator. [TEMPORAL SEQUENCE]
a. After reaching for the phone, he asked for the operator
b. He reached for the phone; then, he asked for the operator
11. Admission was free, but few people attended the lecture. [CONTRAST: CONCESSIVE]
a. Although admission was free, few people attended the lecture.
b. Admission was free. Few people attended the lecture, though.
12. If you push the door hard, it will open. [CONDITION; CAUSE-EFFECT
a. Push the door hard and will open.
13. Give it back to me or (else) I’ll tell your mother, said the stupid little boy. [NEGATIVE
CONDITION]
a. The stupid little boy said that if you didn’t give it back to me, he would tell your mother.
b. ‘Give it back to me. Otherwise, I’ll tell your mother’, said the stupid little boy
14. I lent my bicycle to Robert, and he (then) lent it to David. [TEMPORAL SEQUENCE]
a. After I lent my bicycle to Robert, he lent it to David.
15. This substance was discovered almost by accident, and it has since revolutionized medicine.
[CONTRAST: CONCESSIVE]
a. Discovered almost by accident, this substance has revolutionized medicine.
b. Although it was discovered almost by accident, this substance has revolutionized
medicine.

4. Discuss possible ambiguities in the following examples and give appropriate syntactic
representations for each possible meaning; suggest ways of disambiguation.

1. I’ll let you know whether I’ll need you when the doctor arrives.
a. [Se (S NP)(P VP)(OI NP)[OD Whether cl][A Relative cl]] This representation would
understand ‘when the doctor arrives’ as an adverbial for the main verb ‘let know’.
b. [Se (S NP)(P VP)(OI NP)[OD Whether cl (S NP)(P VP)(OD NP)[A Relative cl]]] With this
possibility, the OD would be an alternative question clause with ‘whether’ as linker
and ’when the doctor arrives’ would refer to the verb ‘need’.
- One possibility to disambiguate this sentence would be by changing the position of
‘when the doctor arrives’ or by paraphrasing.
2. John reported to me and I informed Bob that everything was ready.
a. [Compound Se[Cl1 (S NP)(P VP)(OI PP)[Omitted OD]][Coord][Cl2 (S NP)(P VP)(OI

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 GRAMÁTICA INGLESA
Juan Santana Lar
Tfno 958 241000 - Ext. 202
Fax 958 24367
jsantana@ugr
www.ugr.es/local/jsanta

NP)[OD that cl]]] This possibility would mean that both ‘report’ and ‘inform’ share the
same OD.
b. [Compound Se[Cl1 (S NP)(P VP)(OI/OD PP)][Coord][Cl2 (S NP)(P VP)(OI NP)[OD that
cl]]] This representation would mean that the that clause ‘that everything was
ready’ refers only to the verb ‘inform’ and, therefore, we wouldn’t be able to
identify the issue that was reported unless we were given a context.
- To disambiguate this sentence I would change the position of the that clause or
express the object to which ‘report’ refers to.
3. If Jane has recovered from the flu she is in the supermarket and the children are at a play
centre.
a. [Compound Se[Cl1 [A If clause](S NP)(P VP)(AC PP)][Coord][Cl2(S NP)(P VP)(AC
PP)]] In the example, the adverbial realized by the if clause only affects the first
clause and the second clause has nothing to do with it, it is referential information,
not a consequence of the condition.
b. [Compound Se[A If clause][Cl1 (S NP)(P VP)(AC PP)][Coord][Cl2(S NP)(P VP)(AC
PP)]] This possibility implies that the adverbial represented by the if clause affects
both clauses, so both of them would be a consequence of the adverbial one.
- I would change the position of the clauses to avoid ambiguity, cf: The children are at a
play centre and, if Jane has recovered from the flu, she is in the supermarket.

4. I know he’s cheating and I can’t do anything about it.

a. [Complex Se (S NP)(P VP)[OD Coordinated clauses[That cl1 (S NP)(P VP)]
[Coord][That cl2 (S NP)(P VP)(OD NP)]]] The first possibility implies that there is a
complex sentence whose OD would consist of two coordinated clauses.

Ana Rodríguez Padial

5. Indicate the semantic implication of the coordination in these sentences by adding an adverbial
or otherwise rephrasing.

1. John was illiterate, but he made a fortune on the stock market.

2. Betty did not buy vegetables at the market, but he grew them herself.
3. We are having our holidays in the mountains, or we're going to the sea-shore.
4. Do you want sugar in your coffee or do you want cream?
5. He was a funambulist, or a tightrope-walker.
6. Dick's car broke down, and he had to walk to a garage.
7. She read Tom Jones and she wrote an essay on it.
8. Come over to my place, and we can study together.
9. Rose is taking Latin, and she is studying Greek.
10. The railways is bankrupt, and it is running.
11. Jill was lively and talkative, but his sister was quiet and reserved.
12. The money was stolen and three valuable paintings were destroyed.
13. He was extremely tired but he was unable to sleep until midnight.
14. Water the seeds and they will grow.
15. She was sick and took some medicine.
16. He didn't take a rest but went on climbing.
17. She took the concoction and she got better.
18. He appeared on TV and was voted for president.
19. I didn't ask him to leave but tried to persuade him to stay for another week.
20. She wanted a doll for her birthday but her father brought her a book.
21. This is an early Goya, or it is an excellent forgery.
22. It must a forgery, or it would be in a museum.
23. Joan was sound asleep, or at least she pretended to be.
24. These sharks are very dangerous, and they have never attacked me so far.

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 GRAMÁTICA INGLESA
Juan Santana Lar
Tfno 958 241000 - Ext. 202
Fax 958 24367
jsantana@ugr
www.ugr.es/local/jsanta

1. Although John was illiterate, (but) he made a fortune on the stock market. Concessive
2. Betty did not buy vegetables at the market, (but) she grew them herself instead. Replacive
3. Either We are having our holidays in the mountains or we're going to the sea-shore. Exclusive
alternative
4. Do you want (sugar) anything in your coffee (or do you want cream)? Inclusive alternative
5. He was a funambulist, that is to say,(or) a tightrope-walker. Correction
6. Because Dick's car broke down, (and) he had to walk to a garage. Cause-Effect
7. Because she read Tom Jones (and) she wrote an essay on it. Cause-consequence
8. If you come over to my place (and) we can study together. Condition
9. Rose is taking Latin, and she is studying Greek. Pure addition
10. Despite the railways is bankrupt, (and) it is running. Concession
11. Jill was lively and talkative, but his sister was quiet and reserved. Pure contrast
12. The money was stolen and three valuable paintings were destroyed. Pure addition
13. Although he was extremely tired, (but) he was unable to sleep until midnight. Concessive
14. if you water the seeds, (and) they will grow. Condition
15. Because she was sick, she (and) took some medicine. Cause-effect
16. He didn't take a rest, instead, (but) he went on climbing. Replacive
17. Because/After she took the concoction, (and) she got better. Cause-effect or temp. sequence
18. He appeared on TV and was voted for president. It can be cause-effect, but from my point of
view thou it seems to be pure addition because it displays two disconnected events that happened to
this person.
19. I didn't ask him to leave, (but) tried to persuade him to stay for another week, instead.
Replacive
20. (Although) She wanted a doll for her birthday but her father brought her a book. Concessive
21. This is an early Goya, (or) otherwise it is an excellent forgery. Correction
22. If it wasn’t (It must be) a forgery, (or) it would be in a museum. Negative condition
23. Joan was sound asleep, or at least she pretended to be. Correction
24. Although these sharks are very dangerous (and) they have never attacked me so far.
Concession

Ester Ávila Arráez

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