SOME NOTES ON ENGLISH SYNTAX

Instructor: Miguel Hernández

I. INTRODUCTION

The traditional study of grammar, in the Western world, goes back to the descriptions of the ancient Greek
and Latin grammarians. Most of the grammatical terms used by them are still used today, but others are
new.

It is useful to separate two different ways: we use the term “grammar” in one sense, grammar is the
system by which a language works. In this sense, learning to speak a language is learning its grammar. In
another sense, grammar is a description of language. In this sense, grammar is in the same class as
physics. Physics describes how light, sound, electricity, and other kinds of energy and matter work.
Grammar describes the way a language works. It describes the kinds of works in a language (nouns, verbs,
prepositions etc.), and how speakers and writers put single words together into larger groups that have
meaning.

Any language is composed of individual words and of grammatical devices for putting them together into
larger meaningful combinations. English has several devices for putting words into such combinations, and
it is useful to keep this in mind. The three most important are: WORD ORDER, FUNCTION WORDS, and
INFLECTIONS.

In English, grammatical meaning is largely determined by WORD ORDER. Blue light, and light blue mean
different things: in the first, blue describes light; in the second, light describes blue. We can see the
principle in action in the following:

The thief called the lawyer a liar.

The lawyer called the thief a liar.
The liar called the lawyer a thief.
The lawyer called the liar a thief.

Our new neighbors bought an old house.

Our old neighbors bought a new house.

Who did he say he was?

Did he say who he was?
He did say who he was.

He wanted to marry Jane.

He wanted Jane to marry.

I would like to marry you.

I would like you to marry.

I’ll have it copied within a minute.

I’ll have copied it within a minute.

Who has John rung up?

Who has rung up John?

FUNCTION WORDS: Sometimes called grammatical words, are words such as the, and, but, in, to, at,
because, while, etc., whose rain is to express relationships among other words. Compare the following:
 I am lonely at dark. The cook prepared a rich feast.
I am lonely in the dark. The cook prepared the rich a feast.

INFLECTIONS: (less important in modern English than they were in earlier stages of the language) are
changes in the form of words (inflectional suffixes) which indicate differences in grammatical
relationships. Inflections account for the differences in the following:

The boys walk slowly. Stop bothering me

The boy walks slowly. Stops bother me

These three grammatical devices –word order, function words, and inflections- are the principal ones we
must learn to control if we are to speak and write clearly and effectively.

II. RECONIZING PARTS OF SPEECH (Syntactic Categories)

Grammarians classify words as particular PARTS OF SPEECH in three ways: 1) by their grammatical
function, such as subject or modifier; 2) by their grammatical form, such as the distinctive –s of most nouns
in the plural, or –ed of most verbs in the past tense; 3) by their type of meaning such as the name of a thing,
or the statement of an action.

The class we assign a particular word to may differ according to which kind of classification we use. In the
army cannon, for example, army is an adjective if we ask what function it performs (that of modifying
cannon) but a noun if we ask what form it can take (a plural, armies). In She seemed tired, seemed is a verb
clearly enough if we have defined verbs as words that can form a past tense with –ed or the equivalent but
one might question whether seemed states an action.

Every word functions as at least one part of speech, often as more than one. The dictionary tells you which
part of speech a word can play. The way a word functions in a sentence tells you which role it is playing in
that sentence. In other words, what a word does determines what it is. For example, the word who is a
relative pronoun, and it is a pronoun it can take the place of a noun. Who also functions as a relative adverb
because it joins a subordinate clause to main clause. The word holiday which usually functions as a noun,
can also works as an adjective (the resort has a holiday atmosphere). In the role of adjective, holiday
functions to describe a noun.

Function means the way a word works in a sentence –that is, what it does- like join two clauses or describe
a noun. Every word in a sentence has at least one function. Many words in English can function in more
than one way, and a good many can have more than one set of forms:

Noun The place to be is New York.

The places to be are New York and San Francisco.

Verb Place the book on the desk

He placed the book on the desk.

Modifier She bought place mats for the table.

However, some words can only functions in certain ways: for example, die cannot be used as the subject of
a sentence. It can only be part of the predicate. (We can add the suffix –ing to die, however, and then use it
as a subject: Dying is a drag). Words fit into different functional classes. These classes are called Parts of
speech or Syntactic Categories. In English, it is most useful to classify words according to their most
common function. (Keeping in mind that some words will belong to more than one part of speech). And to
note their other characteristics as convenient ways of identifying them when we have any doubt. The basic
functions in English and the kinds of words that usually perform them are as follows:

FUNCTION KINDS OF WORD

 Naming Nouns and pronouns
Predicating (stating or asserting) Verbs
Modifying Adjectives and adverbs
Connecting Prepositions and conjunctions

As we can see, there are seven parts of speech in English. Each one has a grammatical name like NOUN,
PRONOUN, VERB, ADJECTIVE, ADVERBS, PREPOSITION, and CONJUNCTION. Some grammarians say that
there are eight parts of speech because they include INTERJECTIONS in their descriptions, but most
grammarians do not include them since interjections are seldom used in writing. Interjections are words
like wow!, ouch, oh!, etc., which are used to express emotion and are grammatically independent of other
elements in the sentence.

The two most important of the parts of speech are NOUNS and VERBS. They are the bones of the sentence
patterns. We use modifying and connecting words to expand and refine these basic patterns. Those parts
of speech are of quite diverse character and validity. The familiar definitions overlap and conflict, or are so
vague as to be nearly inapplicable in some cases. In other cases, the line of demarcation between parts of
speech is rather arbitrary. Therefore, it is necessary to refine the traditional definitions, recognize the
differences in status between the classes, and make various other alterations.

NOUNS are words used to refer to or pick out things being discussed. In other words, nouns are used to
name or classify persons, places, things, animals, activities, substances, ideas (concepts), actions,
measures or feelings.

Examples:

Charles and Mary are nouns because they are the names for a male and female person respectively; Detroit
and Rome are the names for places, that is, they are cities; car and table are the names for things; teacher
and pilot are the names for activities or professions; cat and dog are the name for animals, water and blood
are names for substances; courage and justice name the idea of fairness granted by law and quality of
mind or character that makes a person able to face danger or hardship without fear, respectively; climbing
and cooking are the names for actions; year and pound are the names for measures; anger and love are the
names for a strong feeling of hostility and rage and for a feeling of strong affection and warm for another,
respectively.

Nouns can also be used either as subjects (the house is big), objects of verbs and prepositions (I saw John
in the park) or as a predicate noun after a linking (or existence) verb (Bolivar was a hero).

Nouns may be further specified by determiners (Det), which mark them as either definite or indefinite. –
some English determiners are: the, a this, that, these, those, some, any.

Nouns have certain characteristics that set them apart from other word-classes. For example, they can
form plurals (dog – dogs) and take articles (the dog – a dog). However, this is not true of all nouns: there are
no forms such as *educations, *homework’s, *breads, *a harm, *a chess, *the parts, *the Mr. John Smith,
etc.

The great majority of nouns show a possessive in writing by adding an apostrophe (cow’s horns, the
committee’s decision, Archimedes’ law).

PRONOUNS have been traditionally described as “words that stand in place of a noun”. This definition does
not always work. What noun, for example, could it be replacing in the following sentences:

It is snowing
It astonishes me that you’re such a klutz.

We can usually discover the full meaning of a pronoun only by referring to the noun that serves as its
antecedent. In the sentence Clara Barton is the woman who founded the American Red Cross, the pronoun
who refers to its antecedent, woman. In the sentence Whichever he chooses will be acceptable, we can
tell what whichever means only if we know from a larger context what is referred to. In such sentences as
He who hesitates is lost, the meaning is implied by the context itself, that is, he refers to any person who
hesitates to take action.

Pronouns share several characteristics, most of which are absent from nouns. As their name implies, they
“replace” nouns, or rather whole noun phrases, since they cannot generally occur with determiners such as
the definite article of pre-modification.

The men *the they

Tall men *tall they

The main differences between pronouns and nouns are the following:

1. Pronouns constitute a closed system, whereas nouns form an open class.

2. Many pronouns have certain morphological characteristics that nouns do not have:
a. Case-contrast for subjective/objective case, for example I/me, /He/him, who/whom
b. Person-distinction: 1st/2nd/3rd person, as in I/You/He.
c. Overt gender-contrast: masculine/feminine/neuter in the third person, as in he/she/it.
d. Morphologically unrelated number forms, as in I /we / he / they (compared with the typical
regularity of nouns: boy/boys, etc.)

There are two main classes of pronouns: (1) INDEFINITE PRONOUNS (anybody, anyone anything, each one,
everybody, everyone, no one, nobody, somebody, someone, something) which act as nouns and require no
antecedent and are always singular. (2) PERSONAL PRONOUNS, I, we, he, she, they, and the pronoun who,
which is used either to relate one group of words to another, or to ask a question, have distinctive case
forms for the nominate, possessive and objective cases: you and it have distinctive forms for the
possessive only.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Nominative Possessive Objective Reflexive

st
Singular 1 pers. I My, Mine Me Myself
2nd pers. You Your, Yours You Yourself
3rd Pers. He, His, Her, Hers, Him, Her, It Himself, Herself,
she, it Its Itself

Plural 1st pers. We Our, Ours Us Ourselves

2nd pers. You Your, Yours You Yourselves
3rd Pers. They Their, Theirs Them Themselves

Relative or interrogative Pronoun

Nominative Possessiv Objective

e
Singular Who (+ Whose Whom (+
verb in 3rd aux.)
 pers.)
Plural Who Whose Whom

VERBS are words that say something about nouns. That is, they predicate some activity or property of
nouns. Verbs serve as the heart of sentence predicates. They are the minimum of the second part of the
typical SUBJECT-PREDICATE word group. Most verbs make some sort of assertion about their subjects.
They indicate some kind of action, the occurrence of something, or presence of some condition.

In form, verbs can usually be recognized by the fact that they add –s to the plain form to make the third
person singular of the present tense (I run, he runs; we ask, she asks). Most verbs also form a past tense by
adding –ed (we walk, we walked), although some form the past in irregular ways (we eat, we ate; we go, we
went). Verbs can almost always be placed immediately after such words as please and let’s and after a
simple noun subjects: Please go, Let’s eat, John hit Henry. Verbs can combine with AUXILIARIES, which
precede the main verb form, to make a variety of verbs phrases such as is eating, should have been eating,
should have been eaten, will be eating, which convey special shades of meaning.

There are four main kinds of verbs in English:

1) Action verbs. A verb that tells what the subject does is called an action verb. The action may be
physical, like shout or jog, or it may be “mental”, like believe or understand.

If you’re not sure whether a certain word is an action verb, ask yourself if you can do it.

Can you begin something?

Can you feel something?
Can you mosquito something? No. Mosquito is a noun.
Can you enjoy?
Can you change?
Can you simple? No. Simple is a descriptive word.
Can you breathe?
Can you very? No. Very is a descriptive word
Can you try?

Example: My waterbed vibrates. How can it vibrate?

Vibrates is an action verb that tells what the subject, waterbed, is doing. Can is also a verb, and in the
second example it helps form a question. Can is a helping verb.

2) The Existence verb. Action verbs tell what the subject of a sentence does. There is another major
category of verbs that tell what the subject is or how it exists. In this category there are only eight words.
They are the existence verb be and its seven forms:

BE AM IS ARE WERE WAS BEING BEEN

The existence verb, whether it is written as BE or as one of its seven forms, tells what condition or state or
being the subject exists in.

Example: My waterbed is lumpy.

The verb is means existence: the waterbed exists. Lumpy is a descriptive word that tells what condition it
exists in. The waterbed exists in a state of being lumpy.

Example: You were right.

You were says you existed. The descriptive word says you existed in a state of being right.
The Existence Verb as a Main Verb: The existence verb BE and the two forms BEING and BEEN must have
helping verbs with them when they are the main verb of a sentence.

Examples: I can be there tomorrow. He is being polite. It has been a problem.

The other forms of the existence verb can work alone as main verbs.

Examples: The salesman was sincere. I am certain. The cushions are comfortable.
The waterbed is defective. You were smart.

Words that follow the existence verb. An action verb alone can tell what the subject does: I see. It hurts.
You know. But the existence verb is almost always followed by another word or words. There are three
kinds of words that follow the existence verb.

1. The existence verb or any of its forms can be followed by a descriptive word like lumpy, polite, or
smart.

2. The existence verb an also be followed by a prepositional phrase.

Example: Her book is under the pillow.

This sentence says that the subject, book, exists in a certain place. The prepositional phrase under the
pillow tells the place.

3. The third kind of word that can follow the existence verb is a noun.

Example: Nellie is my aunt.

Nellie is the name of the lady, so the word is a noun. Aunt is the name of her relationship to me, so aunt is
a noun too. This sentence says that Nellie is -she exists- and for me, she exists in the state of being my
aunt. (The word my describes the noun aunt).

Example They were the losers.

A pronoun can also be the subject of an existence verb, and it can be followed by a noun that tells the
state it existed or exists in.

Example: She is an electrician.

When a noun comes after the existence verb, that noun refers to the same person, place, or thing that the
subject noun or pronoun refers to. The only grammatical difference is that the noun or pronoun in front of
the existence verb is the subject of the sentence.

Example: The test was my downfall.

The subject is test; it existed in the state of being of my downfall.

Example: My downfall was the test.

Although the two nouns refer to the same thing, the noun in front of the existence verb is the subject of the
sentence.
 The existence verb in statements and questions. The existence verb or one of its forms can be the main
verb of a sentence. A sentence with the existence verb as its main verb also makes a statement or asks a
question.

Example: My horoscope was gloomy.

The main verb -and the only verb in the sentence- is WAS. The sentence thus expresses the existence, or
the action of a subject.

Example: Should his horoscope be different?

There are two verbs, should and be, in this sentence. Be -the existence verb itself- is the main verb, and
should helps it ask a question. The Complete verb is should be.

3) Helping verbs (Auxiliary verbs). In the previews sections on action and existence verbs, you also used
another kind of verb. A helping verb helps the main verb of a sentence express different shades of meaning.

Action verb by itself: The football coach plays classical guitar.

Action verb with helping verb: He can play flamenco, too. He really does play well. He has played for years.

Existence verb by itself: The coach is good.

Existence verb with helping verb: He might be great. He could be famous. As you already know, helping
verbs also help in forming questions.

Examples: Can the coach play rock? Does he play it?

In addition to expressing different shades of meaning and forming questions, two helping verbs, have and
do, along with their forms (has, had, and does, did) can also function as main action verbs.

Examples: The woman has a question. We had a nice time. The painter did a sloppy job. I do very well on
my own.

Eight helping verbs are the existence verb BE and its seven forms. These verbs are first on the list because
of the two important roles they can play as both main verbs and helping verbs.

There are twenty-three helping verbs. Arranged in the following order, they are easy to learn and to
remember. In fact, they have rhythm.

HELPING VERBS (OR AUXILIARY VERBS)

These are the existence am – is – are – were – was –

verb BE and its seven forms. be – being – been

These helping verbs can also have – has – had – do – does

function as action verbs. – did
These helping verbs are also may – might – must – can –
called modal verbs could – shall – will – should
– would.

Some of the helping verbs express ability (can, could); some express possibility (may, might); and some
show obligation (must, should). The others indicate time.
4) Linking Verbs There is another way to describe certain main verbs besides saying that they are action
verbs or existence verbs. All forms of the existence verb and some action verbs like appear, get, look and
sound can also be called linking verbs. Linking verbs express a closer relationship (a link) between the
subject and following words than ordinary action verbs do.

You have already seen this closeness with the existence verb. The action verbs that also function as
linking verbs express a relationship that is like existence.

Examples: I get anxious in a slow elevator. (I am anxious).

The operator looks unhappy. (He is unhappy).

In these sentences the linking verbs get and look have almost the same meaning as BE. Notice that they
have a descriptive word after them.

In addition to the existence verb forms, there are about fifteen common linking verbs, including
those that express action of the five senses. The following list and examples show how linking verbs work.

LINKING VERBS

Act The children act silly.

Appear He appeared upset.

Become The rich become richer.

Get I should get smart.

Grow They grow old.

Keep The dog kept quiet.

Run The stream ran dry.

Seem You seem busy.

Stay The cake stayed moist.

Turn The cat might turn wild.

Feel I feel fine.

Look She looks pretty.

Smell The books smell musty.

Sound The maid sounds afraid.

Taste The bread tasted sweet.

In the examples, all the words following linking verbs describe the subject of each sentence, just as the
words after the existence verb do. If you mentally substitute an existence verb for the linking verb, each
sentence will make a statement about the subject’s existence.

Example: She looks pretty = She is pretty = She exists as being pretty.
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS are the principal modifiers in English. Modifiers are words or word groups
which limit, or make more exact, or otherwise qualify other word or word groups to which they are
attached.

Adjectives are words used to modify (limit or describe) a noun or a pronoun. They ordinarily answer one of
these questions: which one? How many? What kind?

The very common little words a, an, and the help by modification to answer the question which one? So do
such words as every, any, and each. So do noun and pronoun forms used as adjectives: his book, that man,
Bill’s car.

Other adjectives answer the question how many? Here are examples: The three sisters, the several
arguments, the many assignments, the one exception.

Most adjectives, however, answer the question what kind? Thus the kind of car you drive may be an
expensive, powerful car or it may be a small, cheap car. Here are other examples: brass doorknob, old man,
whimpering child.

Adjectives most commonly come before the noun they modify: This beautiful, intelligent girl is my sister.
But occasionally some of them may come after the noun they modify: This girl, beautiful and intelligent, is
my sister. Or they may be used after linking verbs to describe the subject: This girl is beautiful; this girl
seems intelligent.

Adjectives which answer the question what kind? have forms that show comparison: big, bigger, biggest;
old, older oldest. Some are compared irregularly: good, better, best; little, less, least. Adjectives of more
than two syllables are compared with more and most: more beautiful, most beautiful . Careful writers avoid
illogical comparative forms; they recognize that it is impossible to be more perfect than perfect or more
unique than unique.

Other examples: brown dog, Victorian dignity, yellow hair, reasonable price, sleek boat, one football.

Besides describing nouns and pronouns, adjectives also describe other adjectives by giving a special
feature or quality.

Example: The clown has pointy ears and a deep purple nose.

Each of the two nouns that make up the compound object, ears and nose, is described by an adjective that
indicates its shape or color: pointy and purple. Another adjective, deep, describes the adjective purple. An
adjective can describe any noun or pronoun in a sentence, whatever function the noun or pronoun has
subject, object, or object of a preposition. An adjective can also describe a noun that follows the existence
or a linking verb.

Example: The clown is a super entertainer.

Clown is the subject of the sentence. Entertainer, also a noun, expresses another state of the subject’s
existence. The word entertainer is described by the adjective super.

An adjective by itself after the existence verb or a linking verb describes the subject. Examples: His face is
chalky white. He looks sorrowful.

Adjectives can make writing come alive with color, shape, texture, smell-anything that appeals to the five
senses.

Examples: Rotten eggs; salty crackers; cold feet; squeaky shoes; bright red.

Adjectives can also make ideas clearer and more exact.

Examples: Courageous leader; important discovery; close relationship; modern art; strong economy.

There are other kinds of adjectives besides strictly descriptive ones, but they also describe a noun,
pronoun, or other adjective in some way. The words in front of these nouns are all adjectives:
Examples: a unicorn; an emcee; the trainer; my bag; third act; two lions; African lions; some ponies; that
cage; which exit.

Adjectives with existence and linking verbs: There’s an important rule to remember about

Descriptive words and the existence or linking verbs.

USE AN ADJECTIVE –NOT AN ADVERB—ATER THE EXISTENCE VERB OR ANY LINKING VERB.

Example: The tiger seems (is) sleepy.

You wouldn’t say: He seems sleepily”. But do you say :

Maybe he feels bad or Maybe he feels badly?

Badly is an adverb, and adverbs are not used with linking verbs (like feel). The correct sentence is Maybe
he feels bad.

Which one of these sentences is correct?

He appears calm or he appears calmly?

Misuse of good and well Two of the most common descriptive words in the English language, good and
well are often misused. Good is an adjective: well is an adverb form of good. Since action verbs must be
described by adverbs, not adjectives, it’s wrong to say something like: She types good. The tape recorder
works good. Types and works are action verbs. They should be described by the adverb well: She types
well. The tape recorder works well.

But if the verb is an existence verb or a linking verb, then the adjective good is the word to use. He is good
(existence verb) He looks good. (linking verbs) The tape sounds good. (linking verb).

Well can also be an adjective that means “not sick”. So if you really mean “not sick”, you can say: He looks
well, despite his hepatitis and mononucleosis.

ADVERBS are words that describe or modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

Examples:

They played badly. (modifier of a verb).

She is a very happy girl. (modifier of an adjective).
She speaks rather slowly. (modifier of an adverb)

An adverb describes by telling how, why, when, or where, or to what extent.

Examples: It happened here. (Where)

It happened yesterday. (When)
It happened slowly. (How)
He is extremely unpleasant. (To what extent)

Other examples: The sea snakes swam lazily on the surface.

The subject is sea snakes: The verb is “swam”. The adverb lazily tells how the snakes swam.

A sentence may have more than one adverb. Example: Killer whales once almost grazed our boat.

The adverb once tells when the action grazed happened (or almost happened). The adverb almost tells
how, that is, the extent of the action: The whales just missed touching the boat.

You can often find an adverb just before or just after the verb. But adverbs may appear anywhere in a
sentence from the first to the last word.
Example: early in the morning the fish bite better.

Early tells when; better tells how. These adverbs can also be described by other adverbs, very and even:
Very early in the morning the fish bite even better.

Wherever they are in sentences, adverbs tell how, why, when, where, or to what extent. Here is a list of
common adverbs. There are hundreds more, especially adverbs that end in –ly, like lazily. The –ly adverbs
are usually made from adjectives (lazy).

ADVERBS

Again Even Often Still

Ahead Ever Once Than
Almost First Only Then
Already Forever Out There
Also Here Quite Together
Always However Rather Tomorrow
Anymore Just Really Too
Anyway Later Right Very
Anywhere Less Somehow Well
Away more sometimes Yesterday
Better now soon Yet

As you already know, there and here usually don’t function as subjects of sentences.
They are adverbs, and subjects must be nouns or pronouns. If a sentence begins with there or here, the
subject will come after the verb: There has been a drop in sales.

When an adverb modifies an adjective or an adverb, it usually comes immediately before the word it
modifies: very unhappy: unusually cordial, almost certainly. But when an adverb modifies a verb, it may
appear almost anywhere in the sentence:
Slowly she walked home.
She walked slowly home.
She slowly walked home.
She walked home slowly.

Negative adverbs. Some of the most important words in the language are negative adverbs. Never and not
are the most common negative adverbs; nowhere is another. NEGATIVE ADVERBS CANCEL THE POSITIVE
MEANING OF A VERB OR OF A WHOLE SENTENCE.

Example: We never go out for dinner.

This sentence contains the idea of going out for dinner, but the idea is negated, --not for us.

Example: Simon does not know how to sew.

Many people know how to sew, but Simon is not one of them.

Other negative words. There are a few negative words that are not adverbs: no, none, no one, nothing, and
nobody. Since these words are already negative, they don’t need a negative adverb with them.

Example: *Nobody never makes me angry. Should read: Nobody makes me angry. or
Nobody ever makes me angry.
There are three other adverbs which have a negative meaning even though they don’t contain the word no.
The words are hardly, barely, and scarcely, and they should not be used with another negative adverb.

Example: I cannot hardly hear you. Should read: I can hardly hear you.

Hardly acts like a negative word; it shouldn’t be used with another negative, like not (Barely and scarcely
are almost identical in meaning with each other and with hardly).

The reason you shouldn’t use two negative words in the same sentence is that two negatives—a double
negative, as they’re called—cause the meaning to be positive.

Example: She does not never (not ever) talk slowly.

I do not have nothing (= not anyting)

1) I do not have anything.

2) I have nothing.

If she doesn’t never (does not never) talk slowly, then she must ever or always talk slowly. The two
negatives cancel each other and produce a positive meaning --which is not the purpose of the sentence.
Here is another wrong example: He won’t say nothing. If he won’t (will not) say nothing, he will say
something. Again, the double negatives produce a positive meaning. The sentence should read: He won’t
say anything.

Even though double and even triple negatives may seem like a good idea to reinforce your meaning, they
don’t look or sound like very good English. USE JUST ONE NEGATIVE WORD PER SENTENCE.

Comparison of Descriptive Words . The word comparative refers to the form that an adjective or adverb
takes to indicate degree in a comparison. That is, when two things are compared, a comparative form
shows which one is more or less than the other one.

Example: My mule is smarter than your horse.

Smart is an adjective, it expresses a quality that the mule has. The –er at the end of smarter indicates that
there is more of this quality in the mule than in the horse.

Example: My mule runs slower than any horse.

In this sentence the comparative word slower is an adverb because it tells how the mule runs. The two
animals are being compared according to how quickly they move. The mule has more of the quality of
slowness than the horse has.

Here’s how to indicate that you are making a comparison, not just an ordinary statement: Add –er (or –r ) if
the word ends in –e ) to the adjective or adverb if it’s a short word like tough or soon. However, if it’s a long
word like beautiful, use no ending, but put the adverb more in front of the adjective or adverb: more
beautiful (not beautifuller). Then add the adverb than after the comparative.

Most short words use the –er form to make comparisons. But some sound better if more is used instead,
without –er. For example: more useful (not usefuller); more wrong (not wronger). Adverbs that end in –ly
usually show the comparative with more: more tightly, more generously.
Whatever you do, don’t use –er (or -r) and more at the same time for the same word. Most people wouldn’t
say “more succesfuller” or “more frighteninger”. But you may hear somebody say “more clearer”, or “more
nicer”. They should say “clearer” or “more clear”, or “nicer”.

Anyone who uses both more and the -er ending probably wants to reinforce the comparison. But like double
subjects and double negatives, double comparatives are not good English. Use either more and the
descriptive word, or the descriptive word and the ending –er (or -r) but not both.

You should remember that the adjectives of two syllables often have variant forms ( fancier, more fancy;
lazier, more lazy). Adjectives and adverbs of three or more syllables always take more (more intelligent,
more regretfully). Where there is a choice, select the form that sounds better or that is better suited to the
rhythm of the sentence.

Superlatives. When three or more persons or things are compared, the adjective or adverb takes the
superlative form, meaning the most of all.

Example: The turkey is the dumbest bird I’ve ever seen.

The ending –est indicates that this bird is being compared with at least two and maybe hundreds of other
birds. The pattern here is just like the one for making comparatives. Add –est (or –st if the word ends in –e)
to make the superlative of a short descriptive word : fastest, bluest. Use the adverb most without the
ending for an adjective or adverb of three or more syllables : most spectacular (not spectacularest). Use
most with adverbs that end in –ly: most nearly, most effectively. Remember: Don’t use most together with –
est (or -st) for the same word.

PREPOSITIONS AND CONJUNCTIONS are the connecting words in English. A preposition links a noun or
pronoun (ordinarily called the object of preposition) with some other word in the sentence and shows the
relation between the object and the other word. The preposition; together with its object, forms a
prepositional phrase which usually limits or makes more exact the meaning of another word in the
sentence, that is, almost always modifies the other word to which it is linked.

Examples: The dog walks on water. (On links water to the verb walks; on water modifies walks)

The distance between us is short. (between links us to the noun distance; between us modifies distance).

Other examples: John is the man in the house. John is the man near the house. John is the man behind the
house. (In these sentences, the prepositional phrases tell which man, what man).

I walked in the house I walked near the house. I walked behind the house. (In these sentences, the
prepositional phrases tell where I walked).

The following list contains some of the most common prepositions in English.

PREPOSITIONS
About Across Against Among As Before
Above After Along Around At Behind
Below Down Into On Since Underneath
Beneath During Inside Onto Through Until
Beside Except Like Out Till Up
Between For Near Outside To With
Beyond From Of Over Toward Within
By In Off Past Under Without
There are also some groups of words that function just like the one-word prepositions: because of, Instead
of, In front of, With regard to, According to, etc.

Although a preposition usually comes before its object, in a few constructions it can follow its object: In
what town do you live? What town do you live in? What are you selling it for? Faith is what we live by.

Note: Words like below, down, in, off, on, out, over, and up, may be classified as prepositions, as adverbs,
or as particles (used with verbs). Used as adverbs they never have objects. Compare: He went below with
He went below the deck.

PREPOSITIONS: He ran up the hill. I was a mile off shore.

ADVERBS: Look up. He marched off.
PARTICLES: Look up George. Or Look George up. (Compare “find George”).
I put off work. or I Put work off. (Compare: “I postpone work”).

The word CONJUCTION means “joining”. A conjunction is a word that joins two similar parts of a sentence:
a word to another word, a phrase to another phrase, or a clause to another clause (or a sentence to
another sentence). Conjunctions show the relation between the sentence elements that they join.

Examples: Ida and Bill; in or out; long but witty; She acts as if she cares; I left because I had finished the
job.

Conjunctions fall into two classes: 1) The coordinating (coordinate) Conjunctions (the “co” in coordinating
means “equal”). Coordinating conjunctions join words, phrases, or clauses (sentences) of equal of
grammatical rank. In compound sentences, coordinating conjunctions join ideas that are equally important
to the speaker or writer. Coordinating conjunctions also show how the ideas are related to each other.
There are seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, yet, and so. Of these, the first three are
commonly used to link similar words, phrases, and clauses (sentences).

Examples:

We ate ham and eggs.

I hunt in the fall and in the spring.
WORDS JOINED: He works rapidly but carefully.
I shall go in June or July.

PHRASES JOINED: Look in the closet or under the bed.

I spoke to the old men and the old women.

We wanted to go, but we were too busy.

CLAUSES JOINED The dark object in the sky is a huge bird, or it could be a very small aircraft.
Uncle Hershel is generous with his family, and he spends money on himself as
well.

All of them are used to link independent clauses (statements than could be written separately as complete
sentences).

Examples: My sister became a doctor, and my brother became a lawyer.

My sister is a doctor, but my brother is a lawyer.
You may go to the party, or you may go to stay home.
He will be a good lawyer, for he has a find mind.
He will not remain silent, nor will he lie.
He is a poor man, yet he drives an expensive car.
 He was ill, so he could not come.

Some coordinating conjunctions are paired with other words to form correlative conjunctions. The most
common of this are either… or, neither… nor, both… and, and not only – but also.

Example: He will be either a blocking back or an end.

The child can neither read nor write.
Both Ralph and George have been hire.
Not only is he the wealthiest man in town, but he is also the mayor.

2) Subordinating (subordinate) conjunctions: Subordinate conjunctions show that one idea is less important
than another. They are used to introduce subordinate (dependent) clauses and join them to main
(independent) clauses.

The following groupings show the words most commonly used as subordinating conjunctions. You can also
see that subordinating conjunctions can join ideas that are related in ways such as time, opposition, or
place. Notice that a few conjunctions fit in at least two of these broad categories:

TIME EXCEPTION OR CAUSE AND COMPARISON PLACE

OPPOSITION EFFECT
After Although After As if Where
As Even though As As though Wherever
As long as If As long as Than
As soon as Though Because
Before Unless Since
Until Whereas So that
When Whether When
Whenever while
While

Words used as Prepositions and Subordinating Conjunctions . The list of subordinate conjunctions contains
five prepositions: after, as before, since, until. Each of these prepositions functions as a subordinating
conjunction when it is followed by a noun or pronoun and a verb . When it is followed by a noun without a
verb, it works as a preposition in a prepositional phrase.

Examples: After the storm, power lines were down all over the county.
After the storm dumped two feet of snow, everyone headed for the slopes.
Since last winter, we have had trouble with the plumbing.
Since last winter was so cold, people have been stockpiling wood.

In the first sentence of each set, after and since function as prepositions. In the second sentence of each
set, after and since function as subordinate conjunctions, which create subordinate ideas.

Other examples of subordinating conjunctions:

The team went to the bus after the game was over.
He stole a loaf of bread because he was hungry.
He knew that the battle was lost.
If the roads are icy, we shall have to drive carefully.
We always stop working when the bell rings.

According to one biographer, Bacon did not look at friends when he talked with them, for he was concerned
chiefly with ideas, not people.
Conjunctive adverbs: are words used to show a logical relationship. A connection adverb, which may
appear almost anywhere in a statement, shows the logical connection between that statement and the one
immediately preceding.

Examples: He is hungry. Therefore, he is asking for food.

He is hungry; he will not, however, eat anything.

He is hungry, and he is ill, moreover.

INTERJECTIONS are purely emotive words which have no referential content. That is, they have no
grammatical relation to other words in the sentence. Mild interjections are usually followed by a comma:
Oh, is that you? Well, well, how are you? Stronger interjections are usually followed by an exclamation
point: Ouch: You are hurting me. Oh! I hate you!

Some interjections have phonological features which lie outside the regular system of the language. Whew,
for instance, contains a bilabial fricative (/ φju/); tut-tut consists of a series of alveolar clicks, (/ /) The
following are the most common interjections in English: Oh (surprise); Ah (satisfaction, recognition, etc);
Oho (jubilant surprise); Wow (great surprise); Yippee (excitement, delight); Aha (jubilant satisfaction,
recognition); Ouch, ow [ aUtʃ ](pain); Ugh [ʌx] [(disgust); Ooh (pleasure, pain); tut-tut (mild regret
disapproval); Alas (Archaic: sorrow); Uh-huh (“yes”); Mm (Casual “yes”); Hey (Call for attention); Eh?
(implicit request for repetition).

Note: Interjections are sometimes used to initiate utterances; Oh, what a nuisance: Ah, that’s perfect, etc.

Other examples of interjections:

Alas! This is the end of everything!

Hey! Do you know where you going?

Bah! That’s humbug.

Oh! I can’t believe that.

Pshaw! Why did I do that?

The words classified as interjections in the preceding illustrations are always interjections. In addition to
such words, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and other parts of speech are often used as interjections.

Heavens! I cut my finger instead of the cloth!

Good ! I’m glad to hear that.

Horrors ! Look at that hat!

Well ! When are you going to pay that bill?

Some of the interjections that you use or hear in speech are not even words, although it is possible to
represent the sounds expressed. A careful speaker or writer does not use interjections very often,
especially expressions like the following:

Whew! What a day! Um! This soup tastes good. Humph! I knew that ages ago.
III. RECOGNIZING PHRASES

A phrase is often defined as a group of related words without a subject and a predicate, and which
is used as a single part of speech. A phrase does not express a complete idea; it gives only a fragment of
information. Typical phrases are a preposition and its object (I fell on the sidewalk), or a verbal and its
object (I wanted to see the parade).

Phrases are usually classified as PREPOSITIONAL, INFINITIVE, PARTICIPAL, OR GERUND phrases.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES consist of a preposition, its object and any modifiers of the object (under the
ground, without thinking, in the blue Ford). Prepositional phrases are almost always used as adjectives or
adverbs, and occasionally as nouns.

Examples: He is a man of action. (adjective modifying man)

The plane arrived on time. (adverb modifying arrived)

We were ready at the airport. (adverb modifying ready)

She came early in the morning. (adverb modifying early)

The news of the raid spread quickly. (adjective modifying news)

Hartford is a town in Connecticut. (adjective modifying town)
He ordered a hamburger with onion. (adjective modifying hamburger)
The couple danced around the floor. (adverb modifying danced)
He was sure of himself. (adverb modifying sure)
Before breakfast is too early. (noun, subject of is)

VERBAL PHRASES: Some verb forms are used not only as parts of verbs but also as adjectives, adverbs or
nouns. Infinitives, participles, and gerunds function accordingly in verbal phrases.

INFINITIVE PHRASES: Consists of an infinitive, its modifiers, and/or its object (To see the world, to answer
briefly, to earn money quickly). Infinitive phrases function as nouns, adjectives or adverbs.

Examples: I wanted to buy the house. (noun, object of verb)

She likes to do the work. (noun, object of verb)
To write good poetry is his ambition. (noun, subject of is)
It is time to go to the bed. (adjective modifying time)
Language to suit the occasion is very important (adjective modifying language)
We were impatient to start the game. (adverb modifying impatient)
We are hungry enough to order three large pizzas. (adverb modifying enough)
My husband lets me dry the dishes. (noun, object of lets) (inf. Without to)
PARTICIPLE PHRASES: Consist of a present or past participle, its modifiers, and/or its object (Lying on the
beach, found in the street, eating a large dinner). Participial phrases always function as adjectives
modifying a noun or a pronoun (Bored with housework, I became a file clerk).

Examples: The dog running in the yard belongs to my mother.

The man walking his dog is my father.
The jockey wearing gold and scarlet silks is my sister.
The horse belongs to the man looking through the field glasses.
Storms, destroying many crops of corn and oats, lashed the Midwest.
Covered with ice, the bridge was dangerous.
Beaten twice by Susan, Jim fought to win the last game.
News written yesterday is history today.
Ridden too hard too often, the horse was soon put out to pasture.
The main event is the quarter horse race, billed as the best in the west.
She is ridding a colt known for his low stars.

GERUND PHRASES Consist of a gerund, its modifiers, and/or its object (telling the truth, knowing the rules,
acting bravely). The ing form used as a noun is called a gerund. Gerund phrases always function as nouns.

Examples: Buying a used car is tricky business. (subject)

Collecting stamps is my hobby. (subject)
Making a profit is his only purpose. (subject)
She earned more by working overtime. (Object of preposition)
He hated living alone. (object of verb)
I enjoy writing poetry. (object of verb)

RECOGNIZING CLAUSES

A CLAUSE is any group of words containing a subject and a predicate (a complete verb). The relation of a
clause to the rest of the sentence is shown by the position of the clause or by a conjunction. There are two
kinds of clauses: (1) main or independent clauses, and (2) subordinate or dependent clauses, just as there
are main and subordinate ideas. A main clause by itself is a complete sentence, and s is a main idea.

1. Main Clauses. A main clause has both subject and verb, but it is not introduced by a subordinating word.
A main clause makes an independent statement. It is not used as a noun or as a modifier.

2. Subordinate clauses. Subordinate clauses are usually introduced by a subordinating conjunction (as,
since, because, etc.) or by a relative pronoun (who, which, that) subordinate clauses function in a sentence
in one of three ways: as an adverb, an adjective, or a noun. That is, subordinate clause functions as if it
were one of the descriptive words, or a subject or object (or noun after the exercise verb). Subordinate
clauses express ideas that are less important that the idea expressed in the main clause. The exact
relationship between the two ideas is implicated by the subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun that
joins the subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun that subordinate and the main clause. Compare
these sentences:

Single word Subordinate clause

He is an honest man He is a man who is honest.

I came early. I came before the class started
He knows the theorem. He knows that the square of the
hypotenuse is equal to the sum of
the squares of the other two sides.
In the sentences to the left. Single words -an adjective, an adverb, and noun- are underlined. In those to the
right, corresponding clauses are underlined –adjective clause, adverb clause, and noun clause.

ADVERB CLAUSES

An adverb clause modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb. It is usually introduced by a subordinating

conjunction like since, although, that, or as if.

Examples:

The child cried when the dentist appeared. (The sub. cl. the verb cried).
His health has improved since he left the arctic. (The sub. cl. modifies has improved).
I am sorry he is sick. (The subordinate clause modifies the adjective sorry).
I am glad he is happy. (The subordinate clause modifies the adjective glad).
The beach was so crowded that we could hardly see the water. (The subordinate clause modifies the
adverb so).
He thinks more quickly than you do. (The sub. cl. modifies the adv. Quickly.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

An adjective clause modifies a noun or pronoun, an it is usually introduced by one of the relative pronouns
who, whom, which, or that, Sometimes, however, adjective clauses are introduced by subordinating
conjunctions.

Examples: The lady has a plant that blooms only al night. (The sub. cl. modifies plant).
The lady who owns the plant works the swing shift at the factory. (The sub.cl. modifies lady).
Harry T. Miller, who lives in this city, is a lawyer. (The sub. cl. modifies Harry T. Miller).
Is he the man of whom you spoke? (The sub. cl. modifies man).
Music is an art form that we all love. (The sub. cl. modifies form).
My older car, which is ten years old, is a Ford. (The sub. cl. modifies car).
This is the jet that broke the speed record. (The sub. cl. modifies jet).
Anybody who is tired may lave. (The sub. cl. modifies the pronoun anybody).
Canada is the nation we made the treaty with. (The sub. cl. modifies nation).
I can remember a time when how had no money. (The sub. cl. modifies time).
This is the place where Lincoln spoke. (The sub. cl. modifies place).

NOUN CLAUSES

A noun clause functions as a noun or pronoun and becomes a subject, object, or complement in a larger
clause. Here are three sentences showing the same noun clause performing these three different
functions:

That he was not a candidate was made quite clear. (The Noun cl, is the subject of the sentence).
They knew that he was not candidate. (The noun cl. is the object of knew.)
The truth is that he was not a candidate. (The noun cl. is a subjective complement linked to truth).

More examples:

What John wants is a better job. (The noun cl. is the subject of is).
This is where we came in (The noun cl. is a predicate noun).
Please tell them I will be late. (The noun cl. is the object of tell).
He has no internet in what he is reading. (The noun cl. is the object of in).
Whoever has the queen of spades loses thirteen points. (The noun clause is the subject of looses).
The right price is whatever you can afford. (The noun clause is a predicate noun after the exercise verb).
Why the lights suddenly came on is a mystery. (The noun clause is the subject of is).
I must know where the back door is located. (The noun clause is the object of know).
Everybody needs a lesson in how the credit system works. (The noun cl. is the object of in).
My home is wherever I hang my hat. (The noun cl. is a predicate noun after the existence verb is).

KINDS OF SENTENCES

Sentences are classified in two different ways: (1) Acording to the number of main or subordinate clauses,
and (2) according to their functions.

1) The number of main of subordinate clauses in a sentence determines its classification as:
SIMPLE, COMPOUND, COMPLEX, OR CMPOUND-COMPLEX. That is, there are four basic sentence
types in written English. If your sentence does not fit into one of these patterns, you have
probably written a sentence fragment, a run-on sentence or some structure that is just not
English.

a) SIMPLE SENTENCE – This sentence contains one full subject and one full predicate. That is, a simple
sentence has a single main clause.

Examples: It rained all morning. The wind blew. Mary will go to France. He disappeared.
Note that there are different types of simple sentences.

- One subject and one verb: Tom speaks English.

- More than one subject and one verb: Tom and Mary speak English. (compound subject)
- One subject and more than one verb: The cat and the dog snarled and fought.
- Tom, Dale, Henry, and Fred will go to Europe, live in Rome, and study in the Vatican Library. (Many
subjects and many verbs: compound subject and verb).

So long as all the subjects are related in the same way to all the verbs, they are all part of one independent
clause. And so long as the sentence contains only one clause, it is a simple sentence. A simple sentence
may be very short: Grandfather died. But it may also very long, for it may contain many modifying words
and phrases: In the spring of 1946, two months after the bank failure, Grandfather suddenly and
mysteriously disappeared, leaving all the depositors and Grandmother angry and puzzled. Because it
contains only one main clause (Grandfather disappeared), this long sentence is a simple sentence.

b) COMPOUND SENTENCE – This sentence contains 2 or more simple sentences (now called main clauses
have some kind of connection, but he asked to infer that connection may be.

The writer may choose to explain the connection by using conjunctive adverb: The bank failed; therefore,
Grandfather disappeared. Leslie went to Europe: Marge, however, sailed to the far East.

But the semicolon is still used with the conjunctive adverb to separate the two independent clauses in the
compound sentence.

If the connection is explained by one of the coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, yet, so), the
independent clauses may be separated by a comma:

The bank failed, and Grandfather disappeared.

The bank failed, so Grandfather disappeared.
The bank failed, for Grandfather had disappeared.
Leslie went to Europe, but Marge sailed to the far East.
Leslie went to Europe, yet Marge sailed to the far East.
Leslie will go to Europe, or Marge will sail to the far East.
Leslie did not go to Europe, nor did Marge sail to the far East.

A compound sentence may, of course, contain three or more independent clauses: Examples: I came; I
saw; I conquered. I came, I saw and I conquered.

But it will contain no independent clauses.

c) COMPLEX SENTENCE – This sentence type contains one independent clause and one or more dependent
clauses. A dependent clause has a full subject and a full predicate plus a word that attaches it to the
independent clause (or main clause). The dependent clause may be an adverb, adjective or a noun clause.
In the examples, the dependent clauses are underlined.

Examples: All classes were cancelled because it was raining. (Adverb clause)
I’d like to know why the classes were cancelled. (Noun clause)
The classes which were held the next day were cancelled because of the rain. (Adjective
clause)
When Harry drop the ball, he wept loudly. (Adverb clause)
A gnarled tree that was covered with ivy stood on the hill. (Adjective clause)
Father knew that he had to go. (Noun clause)
After he said farewell to Helen, Sir Galen wept as if his heart had been broken. (Adverb
clauses)
When the wind blew, the leaves fell. (Adverb clause)
Because two pictures were on the TV screen, we could watch both the football game and the
launch countdown. (Adverb clause)
I shall be at the station when you arrive. (Adverb clause)
She wore a beautiful dress which her grandmother had worn. (Adjective clause)
Although her car is twelve years old, it does not act its age. (Adjective clause)
The Harley-Davison that my brother just bought gets great gas mileage. (Adjective clause)
The bike dealer, who is a family friend, gave him a good deal. (Adjective clause)

d) COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE – The sentence contains 2 or more independent clauses and one or
more dependent clauses. In the examples the independent clauses are underlined.

Examples:
-It rained all morning; the game was cancelled because the field was wet.
-When Harry dropped the pass, the crowd groaned; however, the coach allowed him to remain in the game.
-Harry will not play next week unless he works harder, for the Southwestern game, which is of crucial
importance, means a great deal to coach Donaldson. When the sky darkened, the wind blew and the leaves
fell.
-Before I could go to sleep, I had to finish my homework, but I found it hard to concentrate.
-While one part of the TV screen carried the footfall game, another part showed the launch countdown; at
time printed scores of other games appeared across the bottom of both pictures.
-Tough I enjoy the country, bugs scare me and flowers makes me sneeze.
-The professor told his class he was retiring, and they applauded.

2) According to their functions sentences may be classified as DECLARATIVE, INTERROGATIVE,

IMPERATIVE, and EXCLAMATION sentences. This classification is based on the kind of thought that the
sentence expresses. Thus a declarative sentence makes a statement; an interrogative sentence asks a
question or seek information; an imperative sentence expresses a command or request; and an
exclamatory sentence shows a strong feeling.

a) DECLARATIVE SENTENCES – A declarative sentence “declares” –that is, makes a statement-.

In other words, the speaker states (affirms, denies) a proposition. This sentence type has “normal”
intonation; it ends with a period.

Examples: The largest mammal is the whale.

I intended to do my homework immediately, but I started to read the paper.
He refused the differ.
I gave him a book.

b) INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES – An interrogative sentence asks a question. In most cases the

purpose of such a question is to seek information. In other words, the speaker asks the hearer to affirm,
deny, or complete a proposition. This sentence type has a special word order and special intonation; it
ends with a question mark.

Examples: Where were you and Bill yesterday?

What is the population of Pasto?
Did he refuse the offer?
He refused it?
Is she a nurse?

Sometimes a question of this type is used not to request information but to indicate how the speaker feels
about something.

Examples: Do you think I’m made of money? How could he have been so foolish?

c) IMPERATIVE SENTENCES – An imperative sentence gives an order or makes a request. That is the
speaker tells the hearer to do (or not to do) something. You can recognize an imperative sentence by the
fact that the subject is always “you” understood and the verb is either uninflected or specially inflected.
Sometimes the imperative sentence ends with an exclamation mark (!) and sometimes ends with a period.
Use the exclamation mark with emphatic orders.

Examples: Put your books away.

Refuse the offer.
Please help me with my assignment.
Don’t do that.
Don’t be so foolish.
Peter, tell Alice to come.

d) EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES – An exclamatory sentence is one which expresses strong feelings, such as
surprise, fear, or joy.

Examples: What an offer! He refused it! Refuse it!

How happy your success makes me!
What a terrible loss to our family!
He’s over for the winning touchdown!

An exclamatory sentence, as shown above, usually ends with an exclamation point. Very often, it begins
with how or what. Note that the word order in many cases differs from the usual pattern in other types of
sentences. This is shown in the following sentences.
DECLARATIVE: This has been a wonderful day.
 EXCLAMATORY: What a wonderful day this has been!

In some exclamatory sentences, the word order is the same as in the other three types, while the emotion
is indicated by the exclamation point. (In speaking, of course, emotion would be shown by the tone of
voice).

Examples: I’ve been a complete fool!

Drop everything and follow me!
This is the end of all my hopes and dreams!
For the first time in history, a man had gone into orbit around the earth!

Sentences can also be described in terms of their forms. Most of the “grammar school” definitions fail to
make the three important distinction between the form of a sentence and the function of a sentence. The
function of a sentence refers to the kind of speech act that the speaker wants to express through the
sentence. The form of a sentence refers to the word order, the intonation and the punctuation of the
sentence. According to their form, sentences are classified as DECLARATIVE, INTERROGATIVE,
IMPERATIVE, and EXCLAMATORY sentences.

It is possible to use a number of different sentence types to perform a given speech act type, and vice-
versa. This is illustrated by the following examples:

SENTENCES: FORM AND FUNCTION

I. Statement (Assertion)

A. Declaratives:
1. Bill’s hair is on fire
2. Bill’s hair! It’s on fire!
B. Interrogatives:
1. Do you know that Bill’s hair is on fire?
2. Would Bill think me rude if I told him that his hair is on fire?
C. Imperatives:
1. Tell Bill that his hair is on fire!
2. Allow me to point out that Bill’s hair is on fire!

II. Question

A. Declarative: I want to know if you’re a Martian.

B. Interrogatives:
1. Are you a Martian?
2. You’re a Martian?
3. Is it true that you are a Martian?
C. Imperative: Tell me if you’re Martian.

III. Order

A. Declaratives
1. The garbage needs taking out.
2. It’s your turn to take out the garbage.
3. It’s time to take out the garbage.

B. Interrogatives
1. Will you take out the garbage?
 2. You’ll take the garbage, won’t you?
3. Isn’t time to take out the garbage?
4. Whose turn is it to take out the garbage? (Assume the speaker knows it’s the hearer’s turn).

C. Imperatives
1. Take out the garbage!
2. You will take out the garbage!
3. The garbage. Take it out!

Exercise

Change each of the following declarative sentences to at least two other forms of sentences.

1. It is evident that we can use another high school is our neighborhood.

2. Many high school seniors must make a decision about going to college.

3. I believe that basketball is the most entertaining spectator sport.

4. I should like to tell you about my first year at camp.

5. Careless bicycle riders can cause accidents too.

6. I don’t know anyone who enjoys washing his dog.

7. Although the country is nice, I am glad I live in the city.

8. Being the oldest child in the family has its disadvantages.

9. I am glad that I have a party-time job.

10. I don’t believe that teen-agers are as independent as they think they are.