The Clause Hierarchy

The clause Greg is a liar is a

SUBORDINATE CLAUSE within the
sentence Kate believed Greg is a liar.

We refer to this larger clause as

the MATRIX CLAUSE:
 Matrix clause
Sub₁
Sub₂
Tim thought Kate believed Greg is a liar.

Sub1 is both subordinate and

superordinate. It is subordinate in
relation to the matrix clause, and it is
superordinate in relation to Sub2.
Subordinate and superordinate,
then, are not absolute terms.
They describe how clauses are
arranged hierarchically relative to
each other.
Every sentence can be analyzed in
four distinct levels:

This is called the the word—level

rank scale.
the phrase—level

the clause—level

the sentence—level
 Sentence ↔ Clause ↔ Phrase ↔ Word ↔ Morpheme

We can represent the categorical

constituent structure of the sentence
in terms of labeled brackets/tree
diagrams.
 Representing sentence structure

I. Bracketing
Analyzing the following sentence:

“The snake killed the rat and swallowed it”

1a. First level: Sentence level

[The snake killed the rat and swallowed it]
1b. Second level: Clause level
[[The snake killed the rat] and [swallowed it]]

1c. Third level: Phrase level

[[[The snake] [killed [the rat]]] and [[swallowed [it]]]]

1d. Fourth level: Word level

[[[[The] [snake]] [[killed] [[the] [rat]]]] and [[[swallowed] [[it]]]]]
Labeled bracketing

1a. First level: Sentence level

[ S₁The snake killed the rat and swallowed it]

1b. Second level: Clause level
[S₁[S₂The snake killed the rat] and [S₃ (it) swallowed it]]

1c. Third level: Phrase level

[S₁[S₂[NP The snake] [VP killed [NP the rat]]] and
[[S₃ [NP (it)][VP swallowed [NP it]]]]

1d. Fourth level: Word level

[S₁ [S₂ [NP [Det The] [N snake]] [VP [V killed] [NP [Det
the] [N rat]]]] and [S₁[NP [Det Ø] [N (it)]][VP [V
swallowed] [NP [Det Ø][N it]]]]]
 PRACTICE ON BRACKETING
a) a) Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina.
a) The people who volunteered to help us were Moira and he.
a) Julie is a sophomore or a junior.
a) Everyone in the ballet is a great dancer.
a) The two members of the wrestling team are Leslie or Jesse.
a) Beth is the tennis player whom I am coaching.
a) Agoraphobia is the fear of being in large open places.
a) All of the contestants appear calm and confident.
a) All summer the weather has been hot and dry here.
j) Long, narrow and winding was the unpaved road leading to the castle.
k) Winners of more than one Super Bowl include San Francisco and Dallas and Pittsburg.
l) Many spectators find the halftime shows entertaining.
m) Millions of fans watch it on television.
n) Nathan bought his grandfather leather gloves.
o) The store manager offered each of the applicants a part-time job.
p) Inventing compact engines made airplane flight possible.
q) Mark Twain has been famous for many years.
r) Our science class took a field trip to the planetarium.
s) Scott works at the pet shop in the mall.
t) I worked as a landscape gardener throughout the summer.
u) We will serve baked chicken with red beans and rice for dinner.
v) We called the airline to confirm the departure time of our flight before we left for the airport.
w) A technician at the electronics shop told me that my CD player was beyond repair.
x) While we lived with the family, Dr. Turner learned much about Cree history and culture.
y) The woodlands of eastern and western Canada were once home to all the Cree; then some Cree bands moved west, where they became hunters.
[S [NP Buenos Aires][VP is [NP the capital [PP of
[NP Argentina]]]]]

[S [NP The people [RC [NP who][VP volunteered

[IP to help [NP us]]]]] [VP were[NP[NP Moira][Conj
and][NP he]]]]

[S [NP Julie] [VP is [NP [NP a sophomore][Conj or]

[NP a junior]]]]
REFERENCES

Maclin, A. (2001). Reference Guide to English A Handbook of English as a Second Language.

En Reference Guide to English A Handbook of English as a Second Language. Washington
DC.
QITMAN TROYKA, L., & NUDELMAN, J. (1986). STEPS IN COMPOSITION. En STEPS IN
COMPOSITION. NEW YORK: PRENTICE HALL.
Laurel J. Brinton. (1984). The Structure of Modern English. John Benjamins Publish
University of Columbia.