Chapter 2: Function

Question 1

active

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Adjunct

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

passive

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Complement

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Direct Object (DO)

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

distribution

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

transitive verb

Answer 7

A verb that requires a DO to complete its meaning.

Question 8

intransitive verb

Answer 8

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

Question 9

ditransitive verb

Answer 9

A verb that takes a DO and an IO.

Question 10

dummy pronoun

Answer 10

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

Question 11

existential there

Answer 11

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

Question 12

function

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Indirect Object (IO)

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

license

Answer 14

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

Question 15

locative there

Answer 15

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

Question 16

nonreferential it

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Predicate

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Predicator

Answer 18

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

Question 19

referential it

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Subject

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

tag question

Answer 21

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

Question 22

stative

Answer 22

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