English Sentence Analysis: An Introductory Course
1 Sentences: communicative functions and typical patterns
1.2 Declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentence patterns
Main reasons of communication:
- Inform
- Get information
- Get someone to do something
- Express one’s attitude about something
Declarative Verklarend John is leaving.
Interrogative Vragend Is John leaving?
Imperative Gebiedende wijs Leave!
Exclamatory Uitroepend How awful John is leaving!
Large written body of text: informative and declarative sentence pattern. The same declarative sentence
pattern has different communicative functions.
1.3 Participants, process, attributes, and setting
Details of event/situation:
- One or more participants
- Attributes of these participants
- Information about the setting of the event or situation
First participant: person or thing that stands out the most.
Process: describes the act, deed, state of being or becoming that the first participant is involved in.
Setting: how, where, when, why, under what condition, in spite of which condition the process or the event
or situation takes place.
1.4 Subject, predicator, object, attribute, and adverbial
Function + abbreviation Translation Role
Subject (S) Onderwerp First participant
Predicator (P) Werkwoord Process
Subject attribute (SA) ‘compliment’ Onderwerp kenmerk About first participant
Direct object (DO) Lijdend voorwerp Second participant
Object attribute (OA) Lijdend voorwerp kenmerk About second participant
Indirect object/benefactive object Meewerkend voorwerp Third participant
(IO/BO)
Adverbial (A) Bijwoordelijke bepaling Setting
1.5 Typical sentence patterns
Only sentence constituent that can go before the subject is the adverbial.
, English Sentence Analysis: An Introductory Course
The language we use / not only expresses ideas but also shapes our thinking.
Subject / Predicate
Predicate denotes the process.
Sentence pattern Structure Verb
Running pattern* S - P - (A) Intransitive
Being pattern** S - P - SA Copula
Doing/seeing pattern*** S - P - DO Monotransitive
Giving/buying pattern**** S - P- IO - DO Ditransitive
Making/considering pattern***** S - P - DO - OA Complex-transitive
* Verb only expresses action involving one main participant. One or more adverbials but no direct object
nor subject attribute.
** SA gives information about the subject only, not the predicator. Verb points out link between first
participant and attribute.
*** Verb expresses an action involving two participants; one acting or experiencing and one acted upon or
perceived.
Doing: actually doing it
Seeing: express (mental) experience
**** Event occurs with at least three participants; giver, thing that is given, receiver.
Giving: having it (IO)
Buying: not having it (BO)
***** Object attribute only describes direct object.
Making: doing something
Considering: in the subject’s mind
Sentence part subject or not? Turn sentence into question. Subject will appear after first verb.
Adverbial is the only constituent that may occur in different places. See if it is possible to move it in a
sentence.
2 Sentences: simple, compound and complex
2.1 Introduction
Sentence in Latin: Sentenia, ‘feeling or opinion’
Sentence:
- an utterance that expresses a feeling or opinion.
- A grammatically self-contained speech unit consisting of a word, or a syntactically related group
of words that expresses an assertion, a question, a command, a wish, or an exclamation, which
in writing usually begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question, or exclamation
mark.
2.2 Sentences versus clauses
Grammatically complete sentences: expresses one complete whole event with subject and
predicate. → Clauses.
General types of clauses:
- independent/main clauses: form a meaningful unit by themselves.
, English Sentence Analysis: An Introductory Course
- subordinate/dependant clauses: cannot stand on their own because they function as a constituent
of another clause.
2.3 Sentence types
Sentence type Structure
Simple sentences One main clause only
Compound sentences Two or more main clauses
Complex sentence At least one dependant clause
Compound-complex sentence Main clauses and dependant clauses
Simple sentences
The waitresses are basking in the sun like a herd of skinned seals, their pinky-brown bodies shining with
oil.
Compound sentences
Fixed order: clauses cannot be moved without changing their meaning.
Ways to connect two main clauses
- Conjunctions
- Coordinate conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet
- Correlative conjunctions: both...and, not only...but also, either...or, neither...nor
- Subordinators: because, if, who, although, where, when, that
- Semi-colon (;)
- Often followed by word like therefore, besides, similarly (conjunctive adverb)
- Conjunctive adverb can move within second clause, coordinate conjunction not.
Complex sentences
Three types of dependent clauses:
- Functions as adverbial
- ‘Whales cannot breathe under water because they have lungs instead of gills.’
- Main clause / dependant clause functioning as adverbial
- Part of a sentence constituent
- Modifies one particular noun
- relative/adjective clause
- Test to see if clause is relative: leave it off
- ‘Whales, which cannot breathe under water, have lungs instead of gills.’
- Functions as subject, object, or subject attribute of a sentence
- Replace the whole clause with the word ‘it’ to find out if dependant clause functions as
subject or object.
Compound-complex sentences
- After the storm passed, I went outside, and I picked flowers.
- Dependent clause / Independent clause
2.4 Phrases
1 Sentences: communicative functions and typical patterns
1.2 Declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentence patterns
Main reasons of communication:
- Inform
- Get information
- Get someone to do something
- Express one’s attitude about something
Declarative Verklarend John is leaving.
Interrogative Vragend Is John leaving?
Imperative Gebiedende wijs Leave!
Exclamatory Uitroepend How awful John is leaving!
Large written body of text: informative and declarative sentence pattern. The same declarative sentence
pattern has different communicative functions.
1.3 Participants, process, attributes, and setting
Details of event/situation:
- One or more participants
- Attributes of these participants
- Information about the setting of the event or situation
First participant: person or thing that stands out the most.
Process: describes the act, deed, state of being or becoming that the first participant is involved in.
Setting: how, where, when, why, under what condition, in spite of which condition the process or the event
or situation takes place.
1.4 Subject, predicator, object, attribute, and adverbial
Function + abbreviation Translation Role
Subject (S) Onderwerp First participant
Predicator (P) Werkwoord Process
Subject attribute (SA) ‘compliment’ Onderwerp kenmerk About first participant
Direct object (DO) Lijdend voorwerp Second participant
Object attribute (OA) Lijdend voorwerp kenmerk About second participant
Indirect object/benefactive object Meewerkend voorwerp Third participant
(IO/BO)
Adverbial (A) Bijwoordelijke bepaling Setting
1.5 Typical sentence patterns
Only sentence constituent that can go before the subject is the adverbial.
, English Sentence Analysis: An Introductory Course
The language we use / not only expresses ideas but also shapes our thinking.
Subject / Predicate
Predicate denotes the process.
Sentence pattern Structure Verb
Running pattern* S - P - (A) Intransitive
Being pattern** S - P - SA Copula
Doing/seeing pattern*** S - P - DO Monotransitive
Giving/buying pattern**** S - P- IO - DO Ditransitive
Making/considering pattern***** S - P - DO - OA Complex-transitive
* Verb only expresses action involving one main participant. One or more adverbials but no direct object
nor subject attribute.
** SA gives information about the subject only, not the predicator. Verb points out link between first
participant and attribute.
*** Verb expresses an action involving two participants; one acting or experiencing and one acted upon or
perceived.
Doing: actually doing it
Seeing: express (mental) experience
**** Event occurs with at least three participants; giver, thing that is given, receiver.
Giving: having it (IO)
Buying: not having it (BO)
***** Object attribute only describes direct object.
Making: doing something
Considering: in the subject’s mind
Sentence part subject or not? Turn sentence into question. Subject will appear after first verb.
Adverbial is the only constituent that may occur in different places. See if it is possible to move it in a
sentence.
2 Sentences: simple, compound and complex
2.1 Introduction
Sentence in Latin: Sentenia, ‘feeling or opinion’
Sentence:
- an utterance that expresses a feeling or opinion.
- A grammatically self-contained speech unit consisting of a word, or a syntactically related group
of words that expresses an assertion, a question, a command, a wish, or an exclamation, which
in writing usually begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question, or exclamation
mark.
2.2 Sentences versus clauses
Grammatically complete sentences: expresses one complete whole event with subject and
predicate. → Clauses.
General types of clauses:
- independent/main clauses: form a meaningful unit by themselves.
, English Sentence Analysis: An Introductory Course
- subordinate/dependant clauses: cannot stand on their own because they function as a constituent
of another clause.
2.3 Sentence types
Sentence type Structure
Simple sentences One main clause only
Compound sentences Two or more main clauses
Complex sentence At least one dependant clause
Compound-complex sentence Main clauses and dependant clauses
Simple sentences
The waitresses are basking in the sun like a herd of skinned seals, their pinky-brown bodies shining with
oil.
Compound sentences
Fixed order: clauses cannot be moved without changing their meaning.
Ways to connect two main clauses
- Conjunctions
- Coordinate conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet
- Correlative conjunctions: both...and, not only...but also, either...or, neither...nor
- Subordinators: because, if, who, although, where, when, that
- Semi-colon (;)
- Often followed by word like therefore, besides, similarly (conjunctive adverb)
- Conjunctive adverb can move within second clause, coordinate conjunction not.
Complex sentences
Three types of dependent clauses:
- Functions as adverbial
- ‘Whales cannot breathe under water because they have lungs instead of gills.’
- Main clause / dependant clause functioning as adverbial
- Part of a sentence constituent
- Modifies one particular noun
- relative/adjective clause
- Test to see if clause is relative: leave it off
- ‘Whales, which cannot breathe under water, have lungs instead of gills.’
- Functions as subject, object, or subject attribute of a sentence
- Replace the whole clause with the word ‘it’ to find out if dependant clause functions as
subject or object.
Compound-complex sentences
- After the storm passed, I went outside, and I picked flowers.
- Dependent clause / Independent clause
2.4 Phrases
