Chapter 2: Function Flashcards

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1
Q

active

A

Active sentences present their subject as being actively engaged in something.
eg. My brother found this money.

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2
Q

Adjunct

A

Constituents that have the function of telling us the how, when, where or why of the situation expressed by the sentence. They can be stacked, are mobile, and can be omitted from the sentence.

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3
Q

passive

A

Passive sentences present their Subject as undergoing an action.
eg. This money was found by my brother.

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4
Q

Complement

A

A function label that denotes a constituent whose presence is determined, sometimes required, by a verb, noun, adjective or preposition.

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5
Q

Direct Object (DO)

A

In semantic terms, the DO typically ungergoes the action denoted by the verb. Syntactically, they are often NPs, they are usually placed after the main verb and they are closely related to the verb that precedes them. Finally, if we turn an active sentence into a passive sentence, the DO of the active sentence becomes the Subject of the passive sentence.

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6
Q

distribution

A

Refers to the arrangement of words or phrases in sentence structure. Words that distribute in the same way will belong to the same categories, eg noun phrases will distribute in the same way.

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7
Q

transitive verb

A

A verb that requires a DO to complete its meaning.

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8
Q

intransitive verb

A

A verb that does not require a DO to complete its meaning.

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9
Q

ditransitive verb

A

A verb that takes a DO and an IO.

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10
Q

dummy pronoun

A

A pronoun that syntactically acts as the Subject but does not refer to anything, such as the weather (nonreferential) ‘it’ or the existential ‘there’.

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11
Q

existential there

A

Is used in propositions to do with existence. Different from locative there.

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12
Q

function

A

A syntactical level of analysis - Subject, Object, DO, Adjunct etc.

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13
Q

Indirect Object (IO)

A

IOs typically have the semantic role of Goal/Receiver or Beneficiary. They are usually NPs, they cannot occur without a following a DO, they always precede the DO and like DOs they can become the Subject of passive sentences.

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14
Q

license

A

When one constituent X governs the form of another constituent Y, we say that ‘X licenses Y’.

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15
Q

locative there

A

A ‘there’ which specifies a location. Separate from existential there.

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16
Q

nonreferential it

A

An ‘it’ in a sentence that does not directly refer to something. Acts as the Subject.

17
Q

Predicate

A

A grammatical function that refers to everything in the sentence except the Subject.

18
Q

Predicator

A

Is not the same as the Predicate. It is the main action, event or process denoted by the verb.

19
Q

referential it

A

An ‘it’ that refers to an element previously mentioned, or an object in the real world.

20
Q

Subject

A

Take the semantic role of the Agent. Are usually NPs, are usually the first NP we come across in the sentence. They are obligatory and the utterance cannot be grammatical without one. They determine (or license) the form of the verb.

21
Q

tag question

A

Used to identify the Subject. Must contain a pronoun that identifies the Subject of the question it is tagged onto.

22
Q

stative

A

Predicates whose referents are not instigating any kind of action.
e.g. This car stinks.