Academic English CIS-L&S Grammar
VU Amsterdam, year 1 (2020-2021)
Eveliene Quaijtaal
Lexical vs Grammatical words
Lexical words are words you cannot miss in the sentence. They are content words.
Examples: lexical verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs
Grammatical words are function words. Examples: articles, conjunction, preposition,
pronoun, auxiliary verb
Word classes
Verb:
Semantic definition: “a word that is used to say that someone does something or that
something happens. For example the words 'arrive', 'make', 'be', and 'feel' are verbs.”
(Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary online)
Grammatical definition: a verb shows agreement with the subject of the clause, it can have
an –ing form, the basic form has ‘to’ etc.
Tense
Time: past or present tense: walks vs. walked
Aspect
Duration: simple or progressive aspect: rains vs. is raining
Voice
Active or passive voice: he bought tickets vs. tickets were bought (by him)
Mood
Indicative, imperative or subjunctive mood: He had to leave vs. Leave! vs. I insisted that he
leave.
Verb phrase: all verb forms in one clause = lexical verb + possible auxiliaries
Noun:
Semantic definition: “a word that refers to a person, place, object, event, substance, idea,
feeling, or quality.” (Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary online)
Grammatical definition: a noun can (usually) occur with a/an, it can be plural or singular, it
can be preceded by an adjective, etc.
Concrete vs. abstract: car, boy vs. truth, democracy, arrogance
Common vs. proper: woman, country vs. Anna, Great Britain
,Count vs. noncount: house, pen, plan vs. wine, advice, research
Different use of articles and singular/plural:
*a research / *researches
Some nouns are always singular (advice, energy); others are always plural (surroundings,
jeans) – check your dictionary!
Noun phrase = single noun + associated words (Associated words can be: articles,
adjectives, prepositional phrases)
Adjective:
Definition: “a word that describes a noun or pronoun” (Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary)
Two ways of using an adjective:
Attributive: It’s an interesting book.
Predicative: The book is interesting
NOTE: only adjectives can follow linking verbs
My computer is slow > slow = adjective
She looked happy > happy = adjective
The soup smells good > good = adjective
Adverb:
“a word that describes or gives more information about a verb, adjective, phrase, or other
adverb” (CLD online)
Adverbs are either (1) taken directly from lexicon (today, however) or (2) indirectly by adding
–ly to an adjective (easy > easily; interesting > interestingly)
Verb types
Group 1: Subject + verb only: intransitive verbs
John / runs
Group 2: Subject + verb + 1 complement: (mono)transitive verbs
John / kicks / the ball (subject / verb / object)
Group 3: Linking verbs
John / is / fast (subject / (copula) verb / subject complement)
Verbs: appear, be, become, feel, grow, make, prove, remain, seem, smell, taste, look,
sound
Group 4: Ditransitive verbs
John / gave / Peter / the ball (for his birthday) (subject / verb / indirect object / direct object)
John / baked / a cake / for Mary (subject / verb / direct object / for/to indirect object)
Group 5: Complex-transitive verbs
Melvin / found / his own jokes / extremely funny (subject / verb / object / object complement)
, Overview
Subject S
Verb V
Direct Object DO
Indirect Object IO
Subject Complement S-comp
Object Complement O-comp
Adverbial A
Adverbial
Definition: Adverb is a type of word - adverbial is a grammatical function.
Words and phrases that can function as adverbials:
Adverbs: Therefore
Prepositional phrases: In 1914
Noun phrases: Last night
Clauses: Whenever there’s a message on our answering machine
Function vs form
FUNCTIONS (constituents) ≠ FORMS (word classes)
1)Walking is good for you. the verb walking is a subject.
2)I enjoy walking. the verb walking is a direct object.
3)I am walking to work every day. the verb walking is part of the verb phrase.
Prepositional phrases are often adverbials.
• He was running in the morning.
But: they can also be necessary
•The princess turned into a frog.
In that case, they are prepositional complements.
Verb tense
VU Amsterdam, year 1 (2020-2021)
Eveliene Quaijtaal
Lexical vs Grammatical words
Lexical words are words you cannot miss in the sentence. They are content words.
Examples: lexical verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs
Grammatical words are function words. Examples: articles, conjunction, preposition,
pronoun, auxiliary verb
Word classes
Verb:
Semantic definition: “a word that is used to say that someone does something or that
something happens. For example the words 'arrive', 'make', 'be', and 'feel' are verbs.”
(Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary online)
Grammatical definition: a verb shows agreement with the subject of the clause, it can have
an –ing form, the basic form has ‘to’ etc.
Tense
Time: past or present tense: walks vs. walked
Aspect
Duration: simple or progressive aspect: rains vs. is raining
Voice
Active or passive voice: he bought tickets vs. tickets were bought (by him)
Mood
Indicative, imperative or subjunctive mood: He had to leave vs. Leave! vs. I insisted that he
leave.
Verb phrase: all verb forms in one clause = lexical verb + possible auxiliaries
Noun:
Semantic definition: “a word that refers to a person, place, object, event, substance, idea,
feeling, or quality.” (Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary online)
Grammatical definition: a noun can (usually) occur with a/an, it can be plural or singular, it
can be preceded by an adjective, etc.
Concrete vs. abstract: car, boy vs. truth, democracy, arrogance
Common vs. proper: woman, country vs. Anna, Great Britain
,Count vs. noncount: house, pen, plan vs. wine, advice, research
Different use of articles and singular/plural:
*a research / *researches
Some nouns are always singular (advice, energy); others are always plural (surroundings,
jeans) – check your dictionary!
Noun phrase = single noun + associated words (Associated words can be: articles,
adjectives, prepositional phrases)
Adjective:
Definition: “a word that describes a noun or pronoun” (Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary)
Two ways of using an adjective:
Attributive: It’s an interesting book.
Predicative: The book is interesting
NOTE: only adjectives can follow linking verbs
My computer is slow > slow = adjective
She looked happy > happy = adjective
The soup smells good > good = adjective
Adverb:
“a word that describes or gives more information about a verb, adjective, phrase, or other
adverb” (CLD online)
Adverbs are either (1) taken directly from lexicon (today, however) or (2) indirectly by adding
–ly to an adjective (easy > easily; interesting > interestingly)
Verb types
Group 1: Subject + verb only: intransitive verbs
John / runs
Group 2: Subject + verb + 1 complement: (mono)transitive verbs
John / kicks / the ball (subject / verb / object)
Group 3: Linking verbs
John / is / fast (subject / (copula) verb / subject complement)
Verbs: appear, be, become, feel, grow, make, prove, remain, seem, smell, taste, look,
sound
Group 4: Ditransitive verbs
John / gave / Peter / the ball (for his birthday) (subject / verb / indirect object / direct object)
John / baked / a cake / for Mary (subject / verb / direct object / for/to indirect object)
Group 5: Complex-transitive verbs
Melvin / found / his own jokes / extremely funny (subject / verb / object / object complement)
, Overview
Subject S
Verb V
Direct Object DO
Indirect Object IO
Subject Complement S-comp
Object Complement O-comp
Adverbial A
Adverbial
Definition: Adverb is a type of word - adverbial is a grammatical function.
Words and phrases that can function as adverbials:
Adverbs: Therefore
Prepositional phrases: In 1914
Noun phrases: Last night
Clauses: Whenever there’s a message on our answering machine
Function vs form
FUNCTIONS (constituents) ≠ FORMS (word classes)
1)Walking is good for you. the verb walking is a subject.
2)I enjoy walking. the verb walking is a direct object.
3)I am walking to work every day. the verb walking is part of the verb phrase.
Prepositional phrases are often adverbials.
• He was running in the morning.
But: they can also be necessary
•The princess turned into a frog.
In that case, they are prepositional complements.
Verb tense
