-
All sessions take place on both Mondays and
Wednesdays (18-1)
Week 1-3
(No lessons)
Week
4
Introduction
to
the
course:
English
Grammar
(syllabus,
teaching
plan,
description
of
assessment,
self-introduction)
/
Introduction: Grammatical Hierarchy //
Sentence structure
Week 5
Subject-verb Concord (I),
(II)
Week 6
Noun and
noun phrase // Genitive noun
Week 7
(Sports
meeting 27th, Oct.)
Week 8
Determiners (I), (II)
Week 9
Pronoun (I), (II) //Verb
and Verb Phrase // Tense and aspect (I), (II)
Week 10
Verb and Verb Phrase // Tense and
aspect (I), (II)
Week 11
Means of expressing future
time / Passive voice (I), (II)
Week 12
Subjunctive mood / Auxiliaries (I),
(II)
Week 13
Infinitive (I), (II), / -ing
participle, / -ed participle
Week 14
Adjective and adjective phrase / adverb
and adverb phrase / Comparison and comparative
construction / preposition and
prepositonal phrase
Week 15
Statement, question, command,
exclamation / Existential sentence / It-pattern /
Coordination
Week 16
Subordination (I), (II) /
Relative clause/ conditional sentence / direct and
indirect speech
Week 17
Modification / substituion
/ ellipsis
Week 18
Postponement, fronting and
inversion / From sentence to text
Week 19-20 Testing Weeks
Outline for each week
Week
4
Introduction
to
the
course:
English
Grammar
(syllabus,
teaching
plan,
description
of
assessment,
self-introduction)
/
Introduction: Grammatical Hierarchy //
Sentence structure
1.
Introduction: Grammatical
Hierarchy (Introduction Section)
Grammar is the structural system of a
language. The grammar of the English language is
organized into five ranks: the sentence, the
clause, the phrase, the word and the
morpheme. Each ran is composed of one or more than
one grammatical unit of the immediate
lower rank. Thus the sentence is a
grammatical unit that consists of one or more than
one clause; the clause, one or more than one
phrase; the phrase, one or more than
one word; and the word, one or more than one
morpheme. The sentence is the highest rank of
grammatical unit while the morphem is
the minimum or the lowest rank. A full sentence
can generally be segmented rank by rank
down to its smallest
constituents
—
the morphemes.
0.1
Merphemes
The
morphese is the minimum or smallest grammatical
unit, also the smallest meaningful element of
speech. Morpheses fall into
two
categories: free morphemes and bound morpheses.
1)
Free morphemes
2)
Bound morphemes
3)
Allomorphs
0.2
Words
The word is composed of one
or more than one morpheme. Words can be classified
in two ways:
1)
Classification in terms of word-
formation
2)
Classification in terms of grammatical
function
0.3
Phrases
The phrase is composed of one or more
than one word. Generally, the phrase is a group of
word organized in a specific way with a
key word as its head. The word class of
the head determines the class of the phrase and
the way in which the words are organized.
1)
The
noun phrase
2)
The verb phrase
3)
The adjective
phrase
4)
The adverb phrase
5)
The
preepositonal phrase
0.4
Clauses
The clause is composed of
one or more than more phrase. A full-fledged
clause is structurally a sequence of phrases and
logically a
construction of
―subject
+
predicate‖.
1)
Independent and dependent
clauses
2)
Simple and complex clauses
3)
Main and
subordinate clauses
4)
Finite and non-finite
clauses
5)
Verbless clauses
0.5
Sentences
The
sentence is the highest rank of grammatical unit.
Based on one or more than one clause, the sentence
is also the basic linguistic
unit of
connected discourse; it can stand alone and
perform a function in social communication. Thus,
a sentence can be defined as a
grammatical unit that can stand by its
and perform a communicative function.
1)
Full and minor
sentences
2)
Simple, compound, complex and compound-
complex sentences
2.
Sentence structure (Lecture 1)
Owing to the fact that
sentences in authentic language differ
structurally in thousands of ways, what is
described here as sentence
structure,
sentence elements, or sentence patterns is only
concerned with the simple sentence, or rather with
the clause.
1.1
Clause element
As has been pointed out before, the
clause or the simple sentence is structurally a
sequence of phrases and logically a construction
of
―subject +predicate‖. That is to
say, the clause or the simple sentence is not just
an agglomeration of phrase; it is a
group
of phrases
organized
into a con
struction of ―subject
+predicate‖.
1)
Subject and predicate
2)
Two
ways of sentence analysis
1.2
Basic clause types and their
transformation and expansion
In terms of the different combinations
of clause elements, English clauses can be
classified into seven types. Innumberable
authentic
sentences are structured on
the basis of these clause types.
1)
Basic clause
types
2)
Transformation and expansion of basic
clause types
The
basic
clause
types
and
their
variants
can
also
be
expanded
levels,
and
these
larger
units
can
again
be
expanded
through
coordination and
subordination into compound, complex and compound-
complex sentences.
Week 5
Subject-verb Concord (I),
(II)
Lecture 2: Subject-verb
Concord (I)
By subject-verb
concord is meant agreement between subject and
predicate verb in number.
2.1
Guiding principles
There
are
three
principles
guiding
subject-verb
concord;
they
are
principles
of
grammatical
concord,
notional
concord
and
proximity.
1)
Grammatical
concord
The principle of
grammatical concord refers to the rule that the
verb must match its subject in number. If the
subject is plural, the
verb should take
the plural form; if, on the other hand, the
subject is singular or is a mass noun, the verb
should take the singular
form, eg:
Both boys have their own
merits.
Every girl comes on
time.
Much effort is
wasted.
Difficulties arise
when this principle comes into conflict with the
other two principles: principle of notional
concord and principle of
proximity.
2)
Notional concord
The principle of notional concord
refers to the rule that the verb can sometimes
agree with the subject according to the notion of
number rather than to the actual
presence of the grammatical marker for that
notion, eg:
The government
have asked the country to decide by a vote.
Fifteen miles seems like a
long walk to me.
3)
Proximity
The principle of proximity denotes
agreement of the verb with a closely preceding
noun phrase in preference to agreement with the
head of the noun phrase that functions
as subject, eg:
Either my
brothers or my father is coming.
No one except his own supporters agree
with him.
Neither Julia nor
I am going.
Note that
grammatical concord is the basic principle, but
when the subject is realized by a collective noun,
a coordinate form or an
expression of
quanlity, the other two principles will have to be
considered.
2.2
Problems of
concord with nouns ending in
–
s
There are quite a few nouns
that end in
–
s but which are
not countable. Some of these nouns are treated as
singular, some as plural,
and some
either as singular or as plural. All this can be
dealt with under the following headings.
1)
Disease and game names ending in
–
s
Names of disease ending in
–
s are mostly treated as
singular, but there are a few such names (as
measles and rickets) which can be
used
either as singular or as plural.
Game anmes ending in
–
s are generally used as
singular with the exception of cards which is
usually treated as plural.
2)
Subject names
ending in
–
ics
Names of subjects ending in
–
ics are generally singular
nouns, but some such nouns are treated as plural
when used in other senses
than subject
names. Compare:
Acoustics
is the science of sound.
The acoustics in the new concert hall
are faultless.
Economics is
a required course for all the students.
The economics of the
project are still being considered.
3)
Geographical
names ending in
–
s
Geographical names such as
the names of archipelagos, mountain ranges,
straits and falls are generally used as plural,
except for a
few treated as singular
when used as country names, eg:
The Himalayas have a magnificent
variety of plant and animal life.
The Straits of Gibraltar have not lost
their strategic importance.
In early January 1976, the Netherlands
was hit by its worst storm since 1953.
4)
Other nouns
ending in
–
s
Names for things made of two parts such
as scissors, pincers, etc are usually used as
plural. But when they are preceded by such unit
nouns as a pair of and two pairs of,
the number form of the following verb is generally
determined by the number marker of the unit
noun.
Nouns
usually
taking
plural
endings
such
as
archives,
arms
and
clothes
are
generally
used
as
plural
with
the
exception
of
whereabouts, dramatics, etc which may
be treated either as plural or as singular.
Nouns ending in
–
ing such as clippings,
diggings, etc are generally used as plural with
the exception of tidings which can be used
both ways.
There
are also nouns such as barracks and headquarters
whose singular and plural number share the same
form. These nouns are
treated as plural
when used in the plural sense, or vice versa.
2.3
Problems of concord with collective
nouns as subject
Collective
nouns
are
singular
in
form
but
plural
in
meaning.
The
choice
between
grammatical
and
notional
concord
is
mostly
dictated by usage.
1)
Collective
nouns usually used as plural
These include people, police, cattle,
militia, poultry, vermin, etc.:
The Chinese people are a great people.
Domestic cattle provide us
with milk, beef and hides.
2)
Collective
nouns usually used as singular
These include foliage, machinery,
equipment, furniture, merchandise, etc.:
All the merchandise has
arrived undamaged.
All the
machinery in the factory is made in China.
3)
Collective nouns used either as plural
or as singular
There are collective nouns that can be
used either as plural or as singular. The choice
of the verb form following such nouns
depends on the exact meaning of the
noun in a specific context. When the noun is used
in the sense of a collective as a whole, the
verb takes the singular form. If, on
the other hand, the noun is used in the sense of
the individuals that make the collective, the verb
takes the plural form. Compare:
The
anti-crime committee is to make its report
tomorrow.
The committee are divided in opinion
about this problem.
That group of soldiers is a
top-notch fighting unit.
That group of soldiers have
the best ratings of individual performance.
4)
A
committee of, etc + plural noun
When a plural
noun is preceded by a committee of / a board of /
a panel of, the verb usually takes the singular
form, eg.:
A committee of finve men and three
women is to consider the matter.
The board of
directors is responsible for the management of the
company.
Lecture 3: Subject-verb
Concord (II)
This
lecture
deals
with
problems
of
concord
with
a
coordinate
construction,
a
quantitative
expression,
or
a
nominal
clause
as
subject.
3.1
Problems of concord with a coordinate
subject
The following rules are to be observed
in the case of a coordinate subject.
1)
Coordination
with ―and‖ or ―both … and‖
Coordination by ―and‖ or ―both … and‖
is usually treated as plural when it
refers
to two or more than two persons
/ things, but it is
treated as singular
when it refers to only one person or thing.
Compare:
Both Pauline and
Bob have gone fishing on Miramar Lake.
Rain, hail and wind have caused an
estimated $$ 200,000,000 damage to crops and
liverstock.
The secretary
and treasurer was absent from the meeting.
Ham and eggs is a good
breakfast.
2)
Coordination with ―or‖ / ―either … or‖,
―nor‖ / ―neither … nor‖, ―not only … but
also‖
Here the
problem of concord is generally deal with
according to the principle of proximity. But in
informal style, items coordinated
by
―neither … nor‖ or ―not only … but also‖ can
sometimes be regarded as plural, eg:
My sisters or my brother is
likely to be at home.
Either my father or my brothers are
coming.
Neither the players
nor the coach was / (were) overconfident.
Not only the switches but
also the old wiring has / (have) been changed.
3.2
Problems of concord with
expressions of quantity as subject
Quantitative
expresssions fall into two categories: definite
and indefinite.
1)
Concond with expression of
definite quantity as subject
2)
Concorn with expression of
indefinite quantity as subject
3.3
Other problems of subject-vern concord
There are other problems of subject-
verb concord that are worth mentioning.
1)
Problems of concord with a nominal
clause as subject
When the
subject is a nominal clause introduced by what,
who, which, how, why, whether, etc, the verb
usually takes the singular
form.
Bu
t when two or more such clauses are
coordinated by and or both … and, a plural verb is
required.
2)
Subject-verb concord with a
non-finite clause as subject
When subject is a non-finite clause,
the verb of the main clause usually takes the
singualr form. But when two or more such clauses
are coordinated by and, the verb of the
main clause takes the singualr form when the
subject refers to one thing, and the plural form
when the subect refers to separate
things.
3)
Subject-verb concord in relative
clauses
In
the
construction
of
―one
of
+
plural
noun
+
relative
clause‖,
the
principle
of
grammatical
concord
is
generally
observed.
Sometimes,
especially
in
British
English,
in
order
to
lay
emphasis
on
―one‖,
the
verb
can
be also
take
the
singular
for
m.
When
―one
”
is proceded by ―the‖ or ―the only‖, the
verb can only be singular.
4)
Subject-verb
concord in cleft-sentences
In cleft-sentences, subject-verb
concord in that- / who-clause is generally
determined by the number of the focal element
functioning
as subject in the clause.
There is one point that should be noted: When the
focal element is ―I‖, the verb TO BE in the
follo
wing
who- /
that-
clause usually agrees whti ―I‖ in
both person and number; if, on the other hand, the
focal element is ―me‖ instead of ―I‖,
the verb TO BE in the following who- /
that-clause should take the third person singular
number.
5)
Subject-verb concord in existential
sentences
In existential sentences, subject-verb
concord is generally determined by the
numb
er of the ―notional subject‖, but
in informal
style, expecially in spoken
language, the verb often agrees with the ―formal
subject‖ and takes the singular form, even
thoug
h the
notional
subject
is
plural.
When
the
notionaly
subject
is
a
coordinate
construction,
the
verb
form
goes
with
the
first
coordinate
element of the
notional subject, singular or plural.
Week 6
Noun and
noun phrase // Genitive noun
Lecture 4 Noun and Noun Phrase
As has been pointed out,
the noun phrase is a phrase with a noun as its
head. It is the noun head that determines the way
the noun
phrase is organized.
4.1 Classification of nouns
and function of noun phrases
1)
Classification
of nouns
Nouns can be
classified according to word formation, lexical
meaning and grammatical form.
a)
Simple,
compound and derivative nouns
According
to
word
formation,
nouns
can
be
divided
into
simple,
compound
and
derivative
nouns.
A
simple
noun
is
a noun
that
contains
only
one
free
morpheme
(e.g.
man,
chair,
land,
faith).
A
compound
noun
is
a
noun
that
is
composed
of
two
or
more
morphemes (mostly free morphemes) (eg:
armchair, farmland, seaside, roommate). A
derivative noun is a noun that comes from a
verb, an adjective or a simple noun
with affix (prefix, or suffix, eg.: arrangement,
greatness, patriotism, forget-me-not).
b)
Proper and
common nouns
According to
lexical meaning, nouns fall into two major
categories: proper nouns and common nouns. A
proper noun is a name used
for a
particular person, place or thing, and spelt with
a capital initial letter (eg: Anderson, Britain,
The New York Times). A common
noun
is
a
name
common
to
a
class
of
people,
things
or
abstract
ideas.
Common
nouns
can
be
further
classified
into
individual,
collective,
material, and abstract nouns (eg: boy, tiger,
family, team, water, air, honesty, glory).
c)
Count and noncount nouns
According to grammatical form, noun can
be divided into two classes: count nouns and
noncount nouns. A count noun (or countable
noun) is a noun that has a plural and
which can collocate with numbers and with such
determiners as a(No, many, few, these, those,
several. etc. (eg: a car, two cars,
many cars, several cars). A noncount noun (or
uncountable noun) is a noun that cannot go with
the
above-mentioned words (eg: bread,
furniture, merchandise).
2)
Function of noun phrases
The noun phrase can
function as all the elements in a sentence except
the predicate verb:
Children at play seldom remember what
time it is. (Subject)
That
was an attractive little black chair. (Subject
complement)
In the hall I
saw some extremely valuable pictures. (object)
They elected him chairman
of the board. (object complement)
Mr Brown, director of the coal mine,
should be responsible for the accident.
(appositive)
Teachers
should be
concerned about the students’
moral culture. (prepositional
complementation)
He returned last night. (adverbial)
A photo is taken each time
this button is pushed. (conjunction)
(Keys
to
4A:
1.
description
ement
ance
arity
ation
nt
ence
ality
ration
ement
tence
ion
ent
sity
ce
ness
fulness
ess sness)
4.2 Number forms of nouns
Number is a grammatical
distinction which determines whether a noun or
determiner is singular or plural.
1)
Regular and
irregular plural
Individual
nouns are all countable and therefore have
singular and plural forms. The singular form of an
individual noun, which
shares the same
form as the base of the word, can take such
determiners as a(n) and one (eg: a/ one desk, an /
one article).
The plural
form of an individual noun can be regular or
irregular. The regular plural is formed by adding
–
s or
–
es tho the base,
while the irregular is not formed in
the above way but by other means such as by
changing the internal vowel or by changing the
ending of the noun (eg:
tooth
—
teeth,
man
—
men,
mouse
—
mice,
child
—
children,
ox
—
oxen).
irregular
plurals also include some words of foreign origin,
borrowed from Greek, Latin or
French.
The plural forms of these
borrowed
words are known as ―foreign plurals‖,
eg:
basis
—
bases,
criterion
—
criteria,
stratum
—
strata,
alumnus
—
alumni
Some borrowed
words have two plural forms: a foreign plural and
an English plural, eg:
medium
—
media
—
mediums
index
—
indices
—
indexes
for
mula
—
formulae
—
formulas
curriculum
—
curricula
—
curriculums
For some nouns, their singular and
plural number share the same form, eg:
A
deer
—
ten dear, one
fish
—
several fish, a
Japanese
—
a group of
Japanese, an aircraft
—
a
hundred aircraft
2)
Number forms of the
collective, material, abstract and proper noun
a)
Number forms of the collective noun
Some collective nouns are
countable, some are not. Countable collective
nouns behave just like individual nouns. An
uncountable
collective
noun
has
no
plural
form.
If
we
want
to
count
the
number,
we
will
have
to
use
a
kind
of
individual
noun
related
semantically to the collective (eg: a
piece of furniture, two articles of equipment)
b)
Number forms of the material noun
Material
nouns
are
generally
uncountable
and
have
no
plural
forms.
But
there
are
some
such
items
that
cen
be
used
either
uncountably or countably. When used to
mean the material itself, they are uncountable,
but when used in other senses, for example,
two coffees in the sense of ― two
cupfuls of coffee‖, they are countable, behaving
just like individual nouns.. There are
als
o material
nouns that can
take plural endings, for example,
sands/w
aters in the sense of ―large
expanse of sand or water‖ and foods/fruits in the
sense of ―a variety of food or fruit‖;
these nouns, though ending in –
s,
remain uncountable.
c)
Number forms of the
abstract noun
Abstr5act
nouns
are
mostly
uncountable.
They
cannot
take
such
determiners
as
a(n)/
one
or
plural
forms.
But
there
are
a
few
abstract nouns (eg: a
victory
—
two victories) that
are countable like individual nouns. There are
also abstract nouns that have plural
endings but which are uncountbale.
In the case of some
abstract nouns, the mere addition of a plural
ending has the effect of changing the meaning of
the base.
We meet once a
year to exchange our teaching experience.
(
经验
)
We told each other our experiences in
foreign countries.
（经历）
d)
Number forms of the proper noun
Proper
nouns
are
unique
reference
and
therefore
have
no
plural
forms,
except
for
such
proper
names
as
the
United
States,
the
Philipines, the Netherlands, etc which
are themselves plural in form. When a proper noun
takes a plural endings, it takes on some
characteristics of a common noun, eg:
Have you invited the
Browns?
There are two Miss
Smiths/Misses Smith in our class.
4.3 Partitives
Partitives, also called unit nouns, are
commonly used to denote a part of a whole or the
quantity of an undifferentiated mass. Both
count and noncount nouns can enter
partitive constructions. With plural count nouns,
partitive constructions can denote the idea of
―a
group‖,
―a
pack‖,
etc.
With
noncount
nouns,
such
constructions
can
achieve
countability.
Partitives
fall
into
the
following
categories:
1)
General partitives
2)
Partitives
related to the shape of things
3)
Partitives
related to volume
4)
Partitives related the
state of action
5)
Partitives denoting pairs,
groups, flocks, etc.
Week 7
(Sports meeting, 27th, Oct.
Friday)
Week 8
Determiners (I), (II) // Pronoun (I),
(II)
Lecture 6
Determiner (I)
Words that precede any premodifying
adjectives in a noun phrase and which denote such
referential meanings as specific reference,
generic reference, definite quantity or
indefinite quantity are referred to as
determiners.
Determiners,
as a class of words, include: articles (definite
article, indefinite article, zero article),
possessive determiners, genitive
nouns,
demonstrative
determiners,
relative
determiners,
interrogative
determiners,
indefinite
determiners,
cardinal
and
ordinal
numerals, fractional
and multiplicative numerals, and other
quantifiers.
The head of a
noun phrase limits the choice of determiners, and
when more than one determiner occurs in the noun
phrase, there is
the problem of word
order between determiners.
6.1 Collocations between determiners
and nouns
The choice of
determiners is closely related to what might be
called the three classes of nouns: singular count
nouns, plural count
nouns and noncount
nouns. These three classes of nouns demand
appropriate determiners to collocate with.
1)
Determiners
with all three classes of nouns
2)
Determiners with singular
count nouns only
3)
Determiners with plural count nouns
only
4)
Determiners with noncount nouns only
5)
Determiners
with singulars and plural count nouns only
6)
Determiners
with singular and noncount nouns only
7)
Determiners with plural and
noncount nouns only
6.2
Collocations between determiners
As has been mentioned before, besides
the collocations between determiners and nouns,
there is the problem of word order between
determiners if a noun phrase contains
more than one determiner.
1)
Central
determiners, predeterminers and postdeterminers
According to their
potential position, determiners fall into three
subclasses: central determiners, predeterminers
and postdeterminers.
2)
Word order of three
subclasses of determiners
When
a
noun
phrase
contains
all
three
subclas
ses
of
determiners,
their
normal
order
is
―predeterminer
+
central
determiner
+
postdeterminer(s)‖:
All the four students
All these last few days
Both his two sisters
6.3 A comparative study of
some determiner usage
1)many, much, a lot of, lots of, plenty
of
2)(a) few, (a) little
3)some, any
4)all, both, every, each, either,
either, neither, any
II. Lecture 7
Determiners (II) Articles
In the previous lecture we
touched upon the fact that articles are the most
typical of determiners. Now we will concentrate on
this
topic.
English has two articles: the definite
and the indefinite article. As we know, all
English common nouns have article contrast, so
with
plural count nouns and noncount
nouns, the absence of an article signals the
presence of another kind of
article
—
the zero article. It
is in this sense that we may also say
that English has three
articles
—
the definite, the
indefinite, and the zero article.
7.1 Generic and specific reference
In discussing the use of
articles, we must distinguish between generic and
specific reference.
1)
Generic reference
When we say the reference
is generic, we are talking about any member
representative of a class of people or things. All
the three
forms of article (the, a(n),
and zero) can be used generically to refer to the
member of a class as a whole.
2)
Specific
reference
Specific
reference
is
different
from
generic
reference
in
that
it
does
not
refer
to
a
class
of
people
or
things
in
general
but
to
a
particular specimen of the class.
Specific reference falls into two kinds: definite
specific reference and indefinite specific
reference.
3)
Anaphoric, cataphoric and situational
reference
Definite specific
reference can be anaphoric, cataphoric, or
situa
tional. The word anaphoric means
―pointing backward‖. When what
is
referred to occurs in a previous context and the
definite article has to point backward for its
meaning, this is known as
―anaphoric
reference‖. The anaphoric use of the
definite article is
called
―anaphoric THE‖. Eg.
He ordered a book some time ago. The
book has now arrived.
His
car struck a tree; you can still see the mark on
the tree.
Catephoric
reference
is
also
a
kind
of
definite
specific
reference.
The
word
cataphoric
means
―pointing
forward‖.
When
the
referential meaning of
the definite article is determined by what follows
the article and the head, and the article has to
point forward
for its own
interpretation, that is cataphoric reference. The
cataphoric use of the definite artic
le
is called ―cataphoric THE‖. Eg.
Is this the train for
Shanghai?
This is the place
where I first met her.
Situational reference is a kind of
definite specific reference that depends not on
any referent that has occurred in the context but
solely
on
the
common
knowledge
shared
by
speaker
and
hearer
or
on
a
specific
situation
in
which
the
reference
is
made
clear.
Situational
reference
is
most
commonly
denoted
by
the
definite
article,
but
in
certain
situations
the
same
function
can
also
be
performed by zero. Eg.
What’s on the radio?
How’s the cough
today?
Shut the
door, please.
7.2 Articles in use with different
classes of noun
The use of articles is
often a headache for us Chinese learners. This is
not only because there is no article contrast in
Chinese
common
nouns,
but
also because
there
are
too
many
exceptions
to
the
rules
guiding
the
use
of articles.
As
a
matter
of
fact,
the
choice of an article in
quite a few idiomatic expressions is just a matter
of usage which is difficult or even impossible to
explain in
terms of a few grammatical
rules. The following is a brief description of the
use of articles with different classes of noun.
1)
article in use with proper noun
2)
article in use with common noun
3)
other uses of articles
Week 9
Pronoun
(I), (II)
Lecture 8
Pronouns (I)
Pronouns
are
a
varied
closed-calss
words
with
nominal
function.
English
has
a
developed
pronoun
system,
comprising
personal
pronouns,
possessive pronouns, reflective pronouns,
reciprocal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns,
interrogative pronouns, relative
pronouns, and indefinite pronouns. The
present lecture will deal with the concord of
pronouns (and corresponding determiners) with
their antecedents in number, gender and
person.
8.1
Pronoun concord in number
Personal pronouns, possessive pronouns,
reflective pronouns, and corresponding determiners
have their singular and plural forms.
The number contrast of pronouns differs
from that of nouns in that pronoun number contrast
is morphologically unrelated, as in I /
we, he /they, as opposed to the typical
regular formation of noun plurals: boy / boys.
The choice of pronoun
number forms is generally determined by the number
of its antecedent, that is to say, a pronoun must
agree
with its antecedent in number.
Here are a few points that merit our attention.
1)
Pronoun concord with every-, some-,
any- compounds as antecedent
When
the
antecedent
is
compound
such
as
everyone,
everybody,
someone,
somebody,
anyone,
anybody,
no
one,
nobody,
the
pronoun and the
corresponding determiner usually follow the
principle of grammatical concord and take the
singular form. But in
informal style,
they can follow the principle of notional concord
and take the plural form, esp. when the antecedent
is everybody or
everyone. Note that
with everything, something, anything and nothing,
the pronoun and corresponding determiner can only
take the
singular form.
Anybody can attend the meeting if he is
interested.
Everybody
talked at the top of his voice.
Everyone was clapping their hands.
Anything on the table can
be thrown away, can’t it?
2)
Pronouns concord with
coordinate construction as antecedent
When
the
antecedent
is
a
coordinate
construction,
the number
forms
of
the
pronoun
and
corresponding
determiner
are
generally
determined by the
plural or singular meaning of the coordination,
eg.
My friend and roommate
has agreed to lend me his car.
My friend and my roommate have agreed
to lend me their cars.
3)
Pronoun concord with collective noun as
antecedent
When the
antecedent is a collective noun, the choice of the
number forms of the pronoun and corresponding
determiner depends on
the meaning of
the collective noun in the context, eg:
The team has won its first
game.
The team are now on
the floor taking their practice shots ar the
basket.
4)
Pronoun concord with ―plural noun /
pronoun + each‖ as antecedent
When the subject of a
sentence is a construction of ―plural noun/
ppronoun +each‖, the choice of th
e
number forms of the pronoun
and
corresponding determiner depends on the position
of the appositive each: if the appositive occurs
before the verb, the following
pronoun
and corresponding determinder take the plural
form; if, on the other hand, the appositive
appears after the verb, the pronoun
and
corresponding determinder take the singular form,
eg:
They each had their
problems.
They had each his
own problem.
8.2
pronoun concord in gender
Gender is a grammatical category. It is
a set of grammatical forms of nouns, determiners
and adjectives that tell of the distincitions
of sex. Unlike some European language
such as German, French and Russion that have a
complicated gender system, the English
language
is
not
marked
with
any
gender
distincitions
except
for
some
pronouns.
Therefore,
when
we
follow
the
traditional
description and say that English nouns
have four genders (the masculine, feminine,
neuter, and common gender), we do not mean
any overt grammatical forms that show
the distincitions of sex, but the differences of
natural sex denoted by the lexical meaning of
nouns.
The
gender
distinctions
are
largely
restricted
to
the
third
person
singular
of
personal,
possessive,
and
reflective
pronouns
and
corresponding determiners. In the use
of these pronouns and determiners we must see to
it that they agree with their antecedents in
gender.
1)
Pronouns concord with make/
female noun as antecedent
When the antecedent is a personal male
/female noun, the pronoun and corresponding
determiner should be masculine or feminine
respectively.
2)
Pronoun concord with common gender noun
as antecedent
Some
common
gender
nouns,
such
as
baby,
child,
customer,
doctor,
engineer,
infant,
lawyer,
parent,
patient,
person,
scholar,
secretary etc, are
duel in nature. They can either be male or female.
In formal writing as in
legal documents, we can use ―he or she‖, ―his or
her‖, etc to refer to a common gender
noun.
3)
Pronoun concord with nuetral gender
noun as antecedent
When the antecedent is a
singular noun of neutral gender, ie a noun tha
denotes an inanimate or nonpersonal object, we
generally
use the neutral pronoun or
determiner (it /itself / its).
8.3
Pronoun concord in person
Personb is a grammatical
category. It is a grammatical form that shows the
referential meaning of pronons. In English,
personal,
possessive, and reflexive
pronouns and corresponding determiners have threee
special forms that tell of reference to the the
speaker
(first person), to the one
spoken to (second person), and to the human being
or thing spoken about (third person).
1)
Pronoun concord
in person on sentential level
In
a
sentence
or
in
a
sequence
of
sentences,
the
person
of
a
pronoun
is
determined
by
the
person
of
its
antecedent.
Generally
speaking, all noun phrases are third
person for purposes of concord.
2)
Pronoun concord in person
on textual level
In a text,
pronouns should be consistent in person from
beginning to end. This is a matter of speaking or
writing from what point of
view,
f
rom the speaker’s or writer’s point of
view or from that of a third party. A consistent
point of view is a guarantee of clari
ty
in
writing.
Lecture 9 Pronouns (II)
This
lecture
will
deal
with
some
other
problems
in
the
use
of
pronouns:
chiefly
the
choice
of
pronoun
case
forms,
the
use
of
possessive
pronouns
and
reflexive
pronouns,
the
generic
use
of
personal
pronouns,
and
some
problems
concerning
pronoun
reference.
9.1
Choice of pronoun case forms
1) Choice between subjective and
objective case
2) Choice
between objective and gentive case
9.2 Possessive pronouns, reflexive
pronnouns and generic use of personal pronouns
1) Possessive pronouns
2) Reflexive pronouns
a) Reflexives as appositive
b) Reflexives as
prepositional complementation
c) Reflexives as object
d) Other uses of reflexives
3)Generic use of personal pronouns
9.3 Pronoun reference
Pronoun reference is a kind
of reference realized through the use of pronouns.
When a pronoun is used, it must refer to somebody
or
something.
What
is
referred
to
is
called
referent
or
antecedent.
It
is
the
antecedent
that
indicates
the
referential
meaning
of
the
pronoun.
1)
Anaphoric, cataphoric and
situational reference
2)
Personal reference
3)
Demonstrative reference
Week 10
Verb and
Verb Phrase // Tense and aspect (I), (II)
II. Lecture 10
Verb and Verb Phrase
From this lecture on, we are going to
talk about verbs and verb phrases. We will begin
with a classification of verbs and a survey of
tense, aspect, voice and mood of the
verb so as to form some basic concepts.
10.1
Classification of verbs (I)
A knowledge to the classification of
verbs from various angles will go a long way
toward understanding verbs and verb phrases both
grammatically and semantically.
1) Main verbs and
auxiliaries
Main verbs are
also called notional verbs functioning as the head
and indivating the basic meanin of a verb phrase.
The grammatical
function of auxiliaries
is to help main verbs,which will be dealt with
more fully in a number of ways later on, to
express various
grammatical and modal
meanings such as progressive or perfective aspect
and obligation or removal of obligation.
a)
Primary auxiliaries
b)
Modal
auxiliaries
c)
Semi-auxiliaries
2) Transitive verbs, intransitive verbs
and linking verbs
Main
verbs can be divided into transitive verbs,
intransitive verbs and linking verbs in accordance
with whether or not they must be
followed by obigatory elements
functioning as complementation and what kind of
elements that must follow.
a)
Transitive
verbs
b)
Intransitive verbs
c)
Linking verbs
3) Dynamic verbs and
stative verbs
Acoording to
lexical meaning, main verbs can be dynamic and
stative. Dynamic verbs are verbs that refer to
actions. Stative verbs
are verbs that
refer to states, ie. To a relatively stable state
of affairs.
a)
Dynamic verbs
b)
Stative verbs
10.2
Classification of verbs (II)
According to word formation
and grammatical forms, English verbs may be
divided into single-word verbs and phrasal verbs,
finite
verbs and non-finite verbs,
regular verbs and irregular verbs.
1)
Single-word
verbs and phrasal verbs
2)
Finite verbs and non-finite
verbs
3)
Regular verbs and irregular verbs
10.3
A survey of tense, aspect, voice and
mood
In this section we are
going to have a quick survey of the four important
grammatical categories of the English verb: tense,
aspect,
voice and mood.
1)
Tense and
aspect
2)
Active voice and passive voice
3)
Indicative mood, imperative mood and
subjective mood
4)
Finite verb phrase and non-
finite verb phrases
Lecture 11
Tense and Aspect (I)
In this and the next five
lectures we are going to deal with the features of
tenses, aspect, voice and mood expressed by the
verb
phrase. We will start with uses of
the simple present, the simple past, the present
progressive and the past progressive.
11.1 Use of simple present
The simpke present is the present tense
form which is not accompanied bu the category of
aspect, that is, which is not marked for
the progressive or the perfective
aspect.
1)
Timeless present
2)
Habitual
present
3)
Momentary and instantaneous present
4)
Simple present referring to the future
5)
Simple present referring to the past
11.2 Uses of simple past
The simple past is the past tense form
which is not marked for the progressive or the
perfective aspect. This tense form canbe used
to denote the following meanings:
1)
Past event and past habit
2)
Attitudinal and
hupothetical past
11.3 Uses of
present progressive
The
present progressive has the following uses:
1)
To
denote an action in progress at the moment of
speaking
2)
To denote an action in progress at a
period of time including the present
3)
To denote a
future happening according to a definite pan or
arrangement
4)
To denote other meanings
11.4 Uses of past progressive
The use of the past
progressive (was/were+ -ing participle) has much
in common with that of the present progressive,
only the time
reference being pushed
back to the past, often overtly expressed by a
time-when adverbial. The following are the uses of
the past
progressive.
1)
To denote an
action in progress at a definite point or period
of past time
2)
To denote a past habitual action
3)
To
denote futurity in the past
4)
To make polite
requests and express hypothetical meanings
5)
Contrast between past progressive and
simple past
Lecture 12
Tense and Aspect (II)
The perfective aspect can
combine with the two tenses, forming present
perfective and past perfective, which can again
combine
with the progressive aspect,
resulting in present perfective progressive and
past perfective progressive.
12.1 Uses of present perfective
This section deals with the
two chief uses of the present perfective and how
the present perfective is distinguished in meaning
from
the simple past.
1)
Present
perfective
2)
Present perfective progressive
3)
Constrast between present perfective
(progressive) and simple past
12.2 Uses of past perfective
(progressive)
Let us now
turn to the uses of the past perfective
(progressive).
1)
Past perfective
2)
Past perfective
progressive
3)
Past perfective in sentences with when
/before/ after/ until clauses