Phrases Flashcards
What does marked mean?
irregular form
Markedness is the state of standing out as non-typical or divergent in comparison to a regular or more common form.
What does unmarked mean?
dominant default/minimum-effort form, “normal”
What are phrases in syntax?
like boxes for words of
specific word classes
What’s the head of a phrase?
- the phrases’ most important element
- cannot be omitted
- determines membership of the phrase
“The dog” -> NP, dog = noun -> head of NP
What are head-only phrases?
phrases that only contain the head
What are expanded phrases?
phrases that contain additional words
“The little dog in the garden is very happy.”
The, little, in the garden are dependents of the head
How can phrases be described?
the boxed building blocks of a language
Which types of phrases are there?
- Noun Phrase (NP)
- Verb Phrase (VP)
- Adjective Phrase (AdjP)
- Adverb Phrase (AdvP)
- Prepositional Phrase (PP)
What is the structure of Noun Phrases?
- Pre-head dependents (Determiner, modifier)
- Head
- Post-head dependents (complement, modifier, peripheral dependent)
What is a complement in NPs?
- complements the meaning of the head
- semantically close link to the head
- can refer to only a limited number of heads
The students of French, His interest in sports, I like the notion that everything in life will be fine
What is a modifier in a NP as a post-head dependent?
- restricts the meaning of the head
- can be left out without major change of meaning
- can refer to a lot of heads
The students in the classroom, The girl with the yellow dress, Is the car in front of the garage
What is a peripheral dependent?
- provides extra meaning that is not necessary
- usually with a comma
- appositon & non-restrictive clause
My sister, who works at a supermarket, is going
What is a restrictive clause?
it restricts the head -> modifier
My neighbor’s dog which has been following me for days is barking loudly.
What is a non-restrictive clause?
provides optional meaning -> peripheral dependent
My neighbor’s dog, which has been following me for days, is barking loudly.
What is a nested phrase?
a phrase that is part of another phrase
the sloth (on the tree) -> PP which has a NP in it
Why are prepositional phrases exocentric?
the head cannot stand alone
What is the ordering principle for pre-head modifiers?
- ‘general’
- size
- age
- colour
- class 1 (-ed, -ing)
- provenance
- class 2
- Head
What is the structure of an Adverb Phrase?
- Pre-head dependents (Adv, AdvP)
- Head
- Post-head dependents (PP, Adv, clause)
very happily, so extremely beautifully, quickly enough, loudly for a small kid, faster than we had expected
What is the structure of an Adjective Phrase?
- Pre-head dependents (Adv, AdvP)
- Head
- Post-head dependents (Adv, PP, clause)
very happy, so extremely beautiful, good enough, pleased by her success, glad that he was on time
What is an extended verb phrase?
a verb phrase that includes the finite verb of a sentence plus its arguments
I am baking a cake.
What is the structure of an Extended Verb Phrase (EVP)?
- Pre-head dependents (primary or modal auxiliaries)
- Head (main verb)
- Post-head dependents (complements)
What is the fixed order of auxiliaries in a VP?
- Modal aux.
- Perfect
- Progressive
- Passive
- Main verb
What do modal auxiliary like “may/might” as pre-head dependent do?
reduces the strength of the claim
What is Hedging?
a strategy that speakers of English use to reduce “the strength of claims to avoid overstating a case”
We have a problem. vs. We might have a problem. -> reduces the claim’s directness & implies politeness
What can a VP express?
- Modality
- Aspect (lexical/grammatical)
- Voice (active/passive)
- Tense (present/past)
What is Modality about?
enriching the VP’s meaning with expressions of..
- personal belief -> epistemic modality
- obligation/permission -> deontic/root modality
(Semantic concept btw)
What is epistemic modality?
about personal beliefs, possibilities, deductions -> possibility, necessity, probability, prediction
What is deontic/root modality?
about obligation and permission -> permission, (weak) obligation, volition/willingness
scale of attitude with different auxiliaries
What are the core modals?
- can/could
- may/might
- must
- shall/should
- will/would
What are the marginal modals?
- be able to, be allowed to
- be permitted to
- have (got) to
- be supposed to
- be going to
- **need/dare
- ought to/used to**
What does the grammatical aspect consist of?
- Progressive (event viewed from inside, in progress)
- Perfect (event viewed from outside, in retrospect)
be + present participle form of verb & have + past participle verb
Both aspects can occur simultaneously!
What does the lexical aspect consist of?
- Stative -> state verbs, imply duration
- Stance
- Dynamic -> event verbs, imply little duration
What is tense?
A grammatical concept, there is only non-past & past
What is time?
A semantic concept
Stative verbs have 3 types, name them
- Quality (be young, have long hair, ..)
- State (love, be excited, think)
- Stance (sit, live, work)
Progressive aspect makes the event/action shorter.
“The cat sits on the sofa.” “The cat is sitting on the sofa.”
Dynamic verbs have 4 types, name them
- Durative -> Process, Activity
- Punctual -> Transitional act, Momentary act
page 41, Progressive aspect makes the event/action longer
“They run.” “They are running.”
Explain the difference between the durative dynamic verbs
- Process is conclusive (change, learn) -> sense of finality or certainty about the event or action
- Activity is non-conclusive (walk, write)-> action might still be unfolding
Explain the difference between punctual dynamic verbs
- Transitional act is conclusive (stop, die) -> only do that once
- Momentary act is non-conclusive (kick, nod) -> might still be ongoing
The progressive has three possible effects, name them
- duration (+iteration =repetition of a momentary event)
- limited duration
- not necessarily complete
effect is dependent on the lexical aspect of the verb!
There are four classes that are incompatible with the progressive, name them + examples
- State verbs of “having” and “being” (be, belong to, contain, depend on)
- Verbs of inert cognition (believe, forget, hope, imagine)
- Verbs of inert perception (feel, hear, sense, smell)
- Verbs of attitude/volition/emotion (hate, hope, intend, like, love, prefer, want)
The 3,5 distancing effects of past tense are?
- Temporal
- Hypothetical
- Social
- (Historic present)
I bought a car. ; If I were you.. ; Could you help me, please? ; Then I enter the room and guess who I see? My ex!
The three basic uses of the present perfect are?
- State/habit that lasts up to the present (with state verbs or event verbs)
- Indefinite past
- Resultative past
event isn’t over yet
No matter its specific meaning, the present perfect form always implies a
retrospective perspective.
What are signal words that demonstrate the uses of the past simple?
- A month ago
- In 2005
- Last week
- Yesterday
AE speakers tend to use the past simple
What are signal words that demonstrate the uses of the present perfect?
- For, since
- Recently
- So far
- Never
BE speakers tend to use the present perfect
What does the Past Perfect refer to?
an event/action/etc. that was completed before another event/action/etc. took place in the past
What does the present perfect progressive emphasize?
duration, not necessarily complete
E.g I have been studying for three hours.
What does the present perfect simple emphasize?
present relevance, possibly complete
e.g. I have finished my homework.
What is the Present Perfect Progressive referring to?
an event/action/etc. that began in the past and is still in progress
I have been studying for three hours.
What does the Past Perfect Progressive refer to?
an event/action/etc. that was in progress before another event/action/etc. took place in the past
What does Backshifting mean?
changing the tense/verb form to the one you had before (present to past, present perfect to past perfect)
occurs in indirect speech, needs a reporting verb in the past
When do you not backshift?
- General truths
- Still relevant/valid/true info
- Internal truths
How do you recognize direct speech?
Quoting verb + quotation marks
How do you recognize indirect speech?
Reporting verb + backshifting
He [says]: “I met Maria last week.” He said that he had met Maria the week before.
What is free indirect speech?
type of reported speech that does not use a reporting verb. Only backshifting.
What is the time Will + infinitive (future simple) used for?
- Internal factors to the speaker: spontaneous decision, promises, willingness
- External factors to the speaker: prediction
“I think I’ll leave the office earlier
today.”
“I will help you with the cooking!
“Can you proofread my essay? – Sure, I’ll do it.”
“The sun will set at 17:00 tomorrow.”
What is the time Will + progressive (future progressive) used for?
- Ongoing activity/state
- Matter of course -> inevitable
- Politeness
In a month, I will be studying for this semester’s final exams.
We will be discussing ‘Unit 7’ next week.
If we fail, will you be helping us out financially?
What is the time going to + infinitive used for?
- Internal factors to the speaker (Intention)
- External factors to the speaker (Prediction based on evidence)
“I am going to take my dog to the vet.” (I have the intention to do so, but haven’t booked an appointment yet.)
“It is going to rain” (there are clouds in the sky)
There are seven other kinds of future reference, what are they?
- Present progressive (for fixed future arrangements)
- Present simple (timetables)
- Be to + infinitive (formal)
- Be about to + infinitive (informal)
- Past in the future (future perfect)
- Future in the past
- Future reference in subordinate clauses
page 50
The progressive aspect of dynamic verbs make an event .. ?
longer
He runs. He is running.
The progressive aspect of state verbs makes verbs …?
shorter
He sits. He is sitting.
