What Is Structural grammar ?
The words phonetics, phonemics,morphemics, and morphophonemics, which we have used to name the branches of structural linguistics.
The words phonetics, phonemics,morphemics, and morphophonemics, which we have used to name the branches of structural linguistics.
There are four types of syntactic structure :
1. Structure of modification
Structure of modification consist of two immediate constituents, a head and a modifier. The head may be any of the parts of speech, certain functions words, or any of the four structures. The modifier may be any of the four parts of speech, a prepositional phrase, or various other structures, including the included clause. The immediate constituents of complex structures of modification are indicated by patterns of word order and prosody.
Example :
The high birth rate in America today
2. Structure of predication
The immediate constituent of a structure of predication:
1. a subject
2. a predicate
Each of these may be a single word, a word with accompany function word (s), a phrase, one of the three other kinds of syntactic structure- modification, complement, or coordinator.
Predicate
A predicate has a verb or verb-phrase in key position.
a. If a predicate has only one word, that word is a verb.
Examples :
a. If a predicate has only one word, that word is a verb.
Examples :
- money talks
- the sun set
b. If the predicate is a structure of modification, its head
is a verb.
Examples :
-Courtesy always pays
- The sun sets in the west
- The mail is usually comes early in the morning
c. If the predicate is a structure of complementation, one of immediate constituent is a
verbal element which always has a verb as its core:
Examples :
- The snow was cold
- The clerk sold me the shirt
- My neighbour painted his house green
d. If the predicate is a structure of coordination, its coordinate members are either verbs themselves or structure in which verbs are essential elements:
Examples :
- We walked and talked
- People either like this place or hate it
English verb exhibit formal distinction which can be classed under seven heads: person, tense, phase, aspect, mode, voice and status.
1 . Person
All English verbs except the modal auxiliaries (can, may, shall, will, must, dare, need) have 2 persons which can be called :
a. The third person singular.
The verb form is base form + {-s} inflection.
b. Common
a. The third person singular.
The verb form is base form + {-s} inflection.
b. Common
2. Tense
all verbs except a few auxiliaries (ought, must) have two tenses:
a. Common tense : present tense
b. Past (preterit) tense
3. Phase
a. simple
b. perfect: have + past-participle
c. resultative : be + past-participle
4. Aspect
a. simple
b. durative: be + present participle (base + {-ing1})
he is talking; she was swimming
c. inchoative : get + present participle.
we got talking; let’s get going
5. Mode
those formed by the modal auxiliaries with the base form of the verb.
can, may, shall, will, must, dare, do
6. Voice
a. active voice
b. passive voice : be + past-participle
get +past participle
active be- passive get-passive
he kills he is killed he gets killed
they built the house the house was built the house got built
7. Status
a. affirmative
b. interrogative
c. negative
d. negative-interrogative
3. Structure of complementation
The structure of complementation has two elements:
1. Verbal element
2. Complement
3. Verbal Element
a. Simple Verb : (he) gives lesson
(a man) hoeing corn
b. Verb Phrase : (we) are learning grammar
Having told the story
c. Infinitive : (a day) to be thankful for
d. Structure of Modification:
(this) was in the long run a mistake
e. Structure of Coordination
(we) caught and ate the fish
2. Complement
a. Subjective Complement
– Noun : the woman is a nurse
– Function Noun : ripeness is all
– Adjective : the corn is ripe
– Adverb : the time is now
– Verb (Infinitive) : his wish is to die
(Present Participle) : his trade is writing
( Past Participle) : this meat is canned
b. Direct Object
When the complement of a transitive verb consists of a single object, whether it be a single word or complex structure, this is called a direct object.
Noun : he found a friend
Pronoun : I saw him
Function Noun: we sent several
Verb (infinitive) : they want to go
(Present Participle) : she likes walking
Structure of Modification:
we saw an excellent new play about Mexico
Structure of Coordination
the party needs a new platform and new a leader
Structure of Complementation
he intends to make money
Structure of Predication
the teacher had the students read a book
4. Structure of coordination
A structure of coordination consists of two or more syntactically equivalent units joined in a structure which function as a single unit.
Coordinators
and rather than not(only)… but(also)
but as well as either … or
nor together with neither … nor
not along with both … and
or
Coordinators
and rather than not(only)… but(also)
but as well as either … or
nor together with neither … nor
not along with both … and
or
A structure of coordination which has more than two components is called series.
- Red white and blue
- Goverment of the people by the people for the people
Elliptical Structure of Coordination
(a) I like fresh fish not salted.
to make this sentence syntactically equivalent we have to
repeat fish or use a function noun like ones after salted.
b) He told John to come at ten and Bill at noon
He told John to come at ten and Bill (to come) at noon.
(c) The house was painted white and the barn red
The house was painted white and the barn (was painted) red
Correlatives
(a) I bring not peace but a sword
(b) He is either extremely clever or totally mad
